SEA 


67 


THE  REAL  TRIUMPH  OF  JAPAN 

THE  CONQUEST  OF  THE  SILENT  FOE 


THE  REAL  TRIUMPH 
OF  JAPAN 

THE  CONQUEST   OF   THE   SILENT   FOE 

BY 
LOUIS   LIVINGSTON   SEAMAN,  M.D.,  LL.B. 

LATE  SURGEON-MAJOR,  U.  8.  V.  E. 

AUTHOR  OF 

"FROM  TOKIO  THROUGH  MANCHURIA  WITH  THE  JAPANESE," 

"THE  SOCIAL  WASTE  OF  A  GREAT  CITY,"  "  NATIVE  TROOPS 

FOR  OUR  COLONIAL  POSSESSIONS,"  ETC.,  ETC. 


NEW    YORK 

D.    APPLETON    AND    COMPANY 
1908 


COPYRIGHT,  1906,  BY 
D.  APPLETON  AND  COMPANT 


Published  February,  1906 


What  boots  it  at  one  gate  to  make  defense 
And  at  another  to  let  in  the  foe  f 

MILTON  :  Samson  Agonistes. 


To  the  Medical  and  Sanitary  Officers  of  the 
Japanese  Army,  who  have  proved  that  the  normal 
condition  of  the  soldier  is  health,  and  that  those 
who  die  in  war  should  fall  on  the  firing  line  and  not 
by  the  wayside  from  disease  ;  to  the  heroic  dead  of 
that  Army,  who  have  gladly  given  their  lives  for 
the  honor  and  integrity  of  their  beloved  country ; 
to  that  vast  army  of  American  Dead,  whose  lives 
in  war  have  been  needlessly  sacrificed  through  pre- 
ventable diseases,  ignorance,  and  incompetency ; 
and  to  our  Lawmakers,  through  whom  the  neces- 
sary reforms  can  come  that  will  prevent  the  repeti- 
tion of  such  sacrifice,  these  lines  are  dedicated. 


1i~ 
< 


PREFACE 

THE  American  Army  is  maintained  to  protect 
American  rights  from  foreign  aggression  and  to 
enforce  law  and  order  within  American  bound- 
aries. In  this  fair  land  alone  the  question  of  peace 
or  war  is  determined  by  the  will  of  the  people.  The 
American  soldier  is  not,  therefore,  an  automaton,  but 
is  a  man,  away  from  his  home,  on  the  business  of  his 
country. 

In  times  of  peace  the  American  people  will  not 
allow  the  maintenance  of  a  large  standing  army,  its 
presence  being  considered,  justly  or  otherwise,  a  men- 
ace to  republican  institutions.  It  is,  therefore,  more 
necessary  to  us  than  to  any  other  country  to  have  the 
most  perfect  and  most  efficient  military  system  in  the 
world;  a  system  whose  elasticity  will  be  sufficiently 
great  to  permit  of  its  rapid  expansion  in  the  emer- 
gency of  war,  when  its  great  working  forces  must  be 
drawn  from  civil  life. 

England's  campaign  in  South  Africa  served  to  bring 
about  radical  reforms  in  the  medical  department  of 
her  Army,  but  our  own  country  seems  to  have  learned 
nothing  from  her  unhappy  experience.  Inefficient  as 
was  the  Medical  Department  in  1898,  to-day  it  has 
fifty-eight  per  cent,  less  effective  force,  while  the 


PREFACE 

wretched  system  under  which  it  operates  remains  un- 
changed. 

Lest  we  forget  how  this  system  operated  in  the 
wars  of  our  history,  notably  in  that  with  Spain,  where 
through  its  glaring  faults  the  sacrifice  of  life  from  pre- 
ventable causes  amounted  to  fourteen  times  the  num- 
ber legitimately  killed  in  action;  and  to  contrast  it 
with  the  record  of  Nippon's  army,  where  four  men 
were  killed  by  battle  casualties  to  one  from  disease; 
and  with  the  further  hope  of  bringing  about  a  reor- 
ganization of  the  Medical  Department  of  our  Army, 
so  that  it  may  become  as  efficient  as  that  of  Japan's, 
this  volume  is  written. 

To  His  Imperial  Majesty  the  Emperor  of  Japan  and 
the  Ministers  of  State  and  War,  Count  Katsura  and 
General  Tarauchi,  through  whose  extreme  courtesies 
I  was  given  all  the  privileges  of  a  Military  Attache 
with  passes  to  the  extreme  front  in  Mongolia,  I  beg  to 
express  most  appreciative  thanks.  Also  to  Generals 
Murata,  Oku,  and  Ijichi;  Barons  Kaneko,  Takaki,  and 
Saneyoshi;  Doctors  Kitasato,  Ohne,  Tanake,  and  Oni- 
shi;  Messrs.  Kennan  and  Dinwiddie,  to  Colonel  Mac- 
pherson,  Military  Attache  of  Great  Britain,  Major 
Matignon,  Military  Attache  of  France,  and  Captain 
Hoffmann,  of  the  General  Staff  of  the  German  Army, 
and  to  Count  Okuma,  Surgeon-General  Mori,  and  Mar- 
shal Oyama,  for  their  uniform  kindness  and  assistance. 

Louis  L.  SEAMAN. 

247  FIFTH  AVE.,  N.  Y.,  January  10th,  1906. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTEB  PAGE 

I.    THE  CONQUEST  OF  THE  SILENT  FOE       .        .  1 

II.     VISITS  TO  HOSPITALS 17 

III.  HOSPITALS  ON  THE  LINE  or  COMMUNICATION  52 

IV.  TO   AND    FROM    THE    FRONT           ....  66 

V.     FIGURES  AND  COMPARISONS      ....  97 
VI.     PREPARATIONS  FOR  CARE  OF  WOUNDED  AND 

SICK 115 

VII.     CARE  OF  THE  WOUNDED  AND  SICK         .         .  128 

VIII.     ARMY  HYGIENE  —  THE  SYSTEM        .        .        .  143 

IX.     ARMY  HYGIENE  —  THE  PRACTICE     .        .        .  153 

X.     PORT  ARTHUR 172 

XI.     THE  HISTORY  OF  MEDICAL  SCIENCE  IN  JAPAN  196 

XII.     MODERN   MEDICINE  AND  MILITARY  HYGIENE  216 

XIII.  BERI-BERI 233 

XIV.  LEST  WE  FORGET 254 

XV.    CONCLUSION       ...  279 


FULL-PAGE  ILLUSTRATIONS 


FACING 
PA.OB 

SLIGHTLY   WOUNDED   SOLDIERS   EN   ROUTE   TO   BASE 

HOSPITAL Frontispiece 

WARDS  IN  TOYAMA  MILITARY  HOSPITAL,  TOKIO     .       .        8 

SURGICAL  GYMNASTICS 12 

Toyama  Military  Hospital,  Tokio. 

AMUSEMENT   HALL   AND   WARD   BUILDINGS   OF  SHIBUYA 

MILITARY  HOSPITAL,  TOKIO 18 

CONVALESCENT  SOLDIER  PATIENTS 22 

About  to  leave   the  Main   Hospital   for  branch  hos- 
pitals in  Tokio. 

WARD   IN   TOYAMA    MILITARY   HOSPITAL,   TOKIO     .       .       28 
Showing  patients  in  wooden  cots. 

IN  THE  PARK  OF  THE  TOYAMA  MILITARY  HOSPITAL,  TOKIO      36 

INTERIOR  OF  AMUSEMENT  HALL,  SHIBUYA  HOSPITAL      .      46 
Presented  by  Baron  Iwasaki. 

KITCHEN,  MAIN  MILITARY  HOSPITAL,  TOKIO      ...       62 

ARMY  SUPPLIES  AT  DALNEY 68 

These  piles,  about  50  feet  high  and  60  x  80  at  the 
base,  covered  many  acres  of  ground. 

UTILIZATION    OF    PRIVATE    HOUSES    FOR    HOSPITALS    AT 

LIAOYANG 88 

Showing  connecting  sections. 

MILK  STERILIZER  AT  MILITARY  HOSPITAL  ....  102 
DISPENSARY,  HIROO  MILITARY  HOSPITAL,  TOKIO  .  ..  110 
X-RAY  APPARATUS  USED  AT  THE  FRONT  .  122 


FULL-PAGE   ILLUSTRATIONS 

LITTER-CARRIERS 

Bearing  a  man,  seriously  wounded  in  the  leg,  from 
the  zone  of  fire. 

RE-DRESSING   ROOM   or   A   FIELD   HOSPITAL     .        .       .     132 
Taking  the  history  of  the  case  of  a  Russian  prisoner. 

CARRYING  A  WOUNDED  MAN  INTO  A  FIELD  HOSPITAL     .     134 
This  Chinese  building  was  some  two  miles  from  the 
nearest  firing  line. 

WOUNDED  READY  FOR  TRANSPORTATION      ....     136 

WOUNDED   SOLDIERS   BEING  TAKEN   FROM  A   HOSPITAL 

SHIP 142 

BOILING  WATER  KETTLES 150 

Used  on  the  line  of  march. 

A  HOT  BATH 152 

Each  man  has  washed,  with  soap,  before  entering  the 
common  bath. 

A  WELL  ON  THE  LINE  OF  MARCH 156 

This  illustrates  the  method  of  marking  wells  as  safe 
or  unsafe  to  drink  from. 

A  MODEL  JAPANESE  LATRINE  IN  LIAOYANG       .       .       .     162 

COLONEL  H.  HOSHINO 174 

Commanding  Surgeon  at  Port  Arthur. 

MILITARY  HOSPITALS,  PORT  ARTHUR 178 

MANCHURIAN  DUGOUT 198 

In  which  soldiers  lived  during  zero  weather. 

PASS  ISSUED  TO  THE  AUTHOR 212 

WHERE  MANCHURIA  AND  MONGOLIA  DIVIDE       .       .       .     228 
One  of  a  series  of  great   monuments  on  the  Willow 
Palisade,   near  the  headquarters  of  General  Oku. 
The  boundary  line  of  the  two  countries  runs  be- 
tween the  towers. 


FULL-PAGE   ILLUSTRATIONS 

FACING 
PAGE 

WOUNDED  AMERICAN  SOLDIERS  AS  THEY  LAY  FOR  SEVERAL 

DAYS  AT  THE  MAIN  FIELD  HOSPITAL,  SANTIAGO.     260 

WOUNDED    AMERICAN    AND    CUBAN    SOLDIERS    BEFORE 

SANTIAGO 268 

Nothing  but  single  canvas  to  protect  the  patients 
from  the  alternating  scorching  sun  and  torrential 
showers. 

WOUNDED    AMERICAN    AND    CUBAN    SOLDIERS    BEFORE 

SANTIAGO 270 

Another  one  of  the  few  tents  of  the  main  American 
field  hospital,  four  miles  from  the  firing  line  and 
opposite  General  Shafter's  headquarters. 

A  WARD  IN  THE  EXCELLENT  RESERVE  MILITARY  HOS- 
PITAL OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  ARMY  IN  MANILA, 
1900  (By  courtesy  of  Messrs.  Harper  and  Brothers)  .  .  286 


THE  REAL  TRIUMPH 
OF  JAPAN 

CHAPTEE   I. 

THE  CONQUEST  OF   THE   SILENT  FOE 

THE  success  of  Japan  in  the  recent  conflict  with 
Eussia  is  due  preeminently  to  three  fundamental 
causes:  first,  thorough  preparation  and  organi- 
zation for  war,  such  preparation  as  was  never  made 
before;  second,  to  the  simple,  non-irritating,  and  easily 
digested  rations  of  the  Japanese  troops;  and  third, 
to  the  brilliant  part  played  by  the  members  of  the 
Medical  Profession  in  the  application  of  practical  sani- 
tation and  the  stamping  out  of  preventable  diseases  in 
the  army,  thereby  saving  its  units  for  the  legitimate 
purposes  of  war  —  the  smashing  of  the  enemy  in  the 
field. 

It  must  never  be  forgotten  that  in  every  great  cam- 
paign an  army  faces  two  enemies  —  the  armed  forces 
of  the  opposing  foe,  with  his  various  machines  for 
human  destruction,  who  is  met  at  intervals  in  open 
battle,  and  the  hidden  foe,  always  found  lurking  in 

1 


THE    REAL    TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 

every  camp,  the  grim  spectre,  ever  present,  that  gath- 
ers its  victims  while  the  soldier  slumbers  in  hospital, 
in  barrack,  or  in  bivouac,  —  the  far  greater  and  silent 
foe,  disease. 

Of  these  enemies,  the  history  of  warfare  for  cen- 
turies has  proven  that  in  prolonged  campaigns  the 
first,  or  open  enemy,  kills  twenty  per  cent,  of  the  total 
mortality  in  the  conflict,  whilst  the  second,  or  silent 
enemy,  kills  eighty  per  cent.  In  other  words,  out  of 
every  one  hundred  men  who  fall  in  war  twenty  die 
from  bullets  or  wounds,  while  eighty  perish  from  dis- 
ease, most  of  which  is  preventable.  This  dreadful  and 
unnecessary  sacrifice  of  life,  especially  in  conflicts  be- 
tween the  Anglo-Saxon  races,  is  the  most  ghastly  prop- 
osition of  modern  war,  and  the  Japanese  have  gone  a 
long  way  toward  conquering  or  eliminating  it. 

Without  minimizing  for  a  moment  the  splendour  of 
her  victories  on  land  or  sea  —  Mukden,  Port  Arthur, 
Liaoyang,  and  the  Korean  Straits,  of  which  two  are 
among  the  bloodiest  battles  in  history  —  I  yet  un- 
hesitatingly assert  that  the  greatest  conquests  of  Japan 
have  been  in  the  humanities  of  war,  in  the  stopping  of 
the  needless  sacrifice  of  life  through  preventable  dis- 
ease. 

Longmore's  Tables,  which  are  accepted  as  the  most 
reliable  statistics  of  war,  and  which  are  based  on  the 
records  of  battles  for  the  past  two  hundred  years,  show 
that  there  rarely  has  been  a  conflict  of  any  great  dura- 
tion in  which  at  least  four  men  have  not  perished  from 

2 


THE    CONQUEST    OF    THE    SILENT    FOE 

disease  to  every  one  from  bullets.  In  the  Russo- 
Turkish  War  eighty  thousand  died  from  disease  and 
twenty  thousand  from  wounds.  It  is  asserted  on  emi- 
nent French  authority  that  in  six  months  of  the 
Crimean  Campaign  the  Allied  Forces  lost  fifty  thou- 
sand from  disease  and  two  thousand  from  bullets.  A 
gentleman  who  remembers  that  campaign,  an  ex-Pres- 
ident of  the  New  York  Academy  of  Medicine,  told  me 
he  had  seen  whole  regiments  die  away  from  disease 
without  ever  reaching  the  firing  line.  In  our  war 
with  Mexico  the  proportion  of  losses  was  about  three 
from  disease  to  one  from  bullets,  and  in  our  great 
Civil  War  nearly  the  same  proportion  obtained.  In 
round  numbers,  of  the  hundreds  of  thousands  of  fatali- 
ties in  that  conflict  nearly  three-quarters  resulted  from 
disease.  There  are  men  living  who  may  remember  that 
nearly  as  many  men  perished  from  fevers  and  intestinal 
diseases  in  the  trenches  beside  the  Chickahominy  as 
were  slaughtered  in  the  terrible  battles  that  ended  our 
great  fratricidal  conflict. 

No  lessons  seem  to  have  been  learned  from  these 
frightful  experiences,  for  later  statistics  show  no  im- 
provement. In  the  French  Campaign  in  Madagascar 
in  1894  fourteen  thousand  men  were  sent  to  the  front, 
of  whom  twenty-nine  were  killed  in  action  and  seven 
thousand  perished  from  preventable  disease.  In  the 
Boer  War  in  South  Africa  the  English  losses  from 
disease  were  simply  frightful,  greater  than  even  our 
Civil  War  record.  But  the  crowning  piece  of  imbe- 

3  3 


THE    REAL   TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 

cility  was  reserved  for  our  war  with  Spain,  where, 
in  1898,  fourteen  were  needlessly  sacrificed  to  igno- 
rance and  incompetency  for  every  one  who  died  on  the 
firing  line  or  from  battle  casualties.  That,  too,  in 
a  war  the  chief  campaign  of  which  lasted  only  six 
weeks. 

The  Japanese  themselves,  in  their  war  with  China 
in  1894,  lost  about  the  same  average  as  we  did  in  our 
Rebellion  —  nearly  three  from  disease  for  one  from 
bullets,  with  forty-five  per  cent,  of  their  army  suffer- 
ing from  kakki,  or  beri-beri,  rendering  them  non- 
effective  for  the  firing  line. 

All  of  these  statistics  were  studied  with  the  minutest 
care  and  detail  by  the  Japanese.  Their  authorities 
recognized  that,  in  order  to  be  victorious  over  a  foe 
like  Russia,  this  great,  silent  enemy,  that  slaughters 
eighty  out  of  every  hundred  that  fall,  must  be  over- 
come. And  the  following  startling  figures  recording 
losses  from  February,  1904,  to  May,  1905,  since  which 
time  there  have  been  no  great  battles,  show  to  what  a 
splendid  degree  they  were  successful :  — 

NUMBER 

Killed  on  field 43,892 

Wounded  with  the  colours       .        .        .                 •        •  145,527 

Died  of  those  wounds 9,054 

Sick,  including  wounds,  accidents,  etc.,  not  received  on 

the  firing  line 162,556 

Died  of  sickness  and  disease 7,483 

Contagious  cases 10,565 

Died  of  contagious  diseases 4,557 

Total  of  dead,  wounded,  and  sick     ....     383,584 
4 


THE    CONQUEST    OF    THE    SILENT    FOE 

Note  these  startling  totals :  — 

Killed  and  died  from  wounds 62,946 

Died  from  all  diseases 11,992 

More  than  four  deaths  from  bullets  to  one  from  dis- 
ease, as  against  the  record  of  centuries  of  four  from 
disease  to  one  from  bullets,  or  eight  hundred  per  cent, 
better  than  the  average  of  history! 

Only  one  and  two-tenths  per  cent,  of  the  entire 
army  died  of  sickness  or  disease.  Only  one  and  one- 
half  per  cent,  died  of  gunshot  wounds,  although  twenty- 
four  per  cent,  were  wounded.  There  were  two  thou- 
sand more  men  who  died  of  wounds  than  from  pre- 
ventable diseases.  Of  a  total  mortality  from  all  causes 
of  64,938  there  were  40,954  more  from  casualties  than 
from  disease. 

This  record  is,  I  believe,  unparalleled  and  unap- 
proached  in  the  annals  of  war. 

How  was  this  marvellous  result  attained?  Ten 
years  ago,  when  Japan  was  robbed  of  the  legitimate 
fruits  of  her  victory  over  China  by  the  concerted  action 
of  Eussia,  Germany,  and  France,  on  the  ground  of 
their  maintaining  the  integrity  of  Chinese  territory, 
and  immediately  afterwards  saw  these  grasping  vul- 
tures deliberately  appropriating  the  territory  them- 
selves, she  recognized  the  magnitude  of  her  own  dan- 
ger, and  set  about  to  prepare  for  the  inevitable  strug- 
gle that  was  to  determine  whether  she  was  to  remain 
an  independent  nation  or  was  to  become  a  vassal  of 

5 


THE    REAL    TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 

the  aggressive  Muscovite.  Her  statesmen  reasoned  in 
this  way.  They  said:  We  are  about  to  engage  in  a 
terrible  war  with  an  antagonist  of  great  strength  and 
prestige,  with  enormous  resources  and  a  supposedly  in- 
vincible army.  That  is  our  first,  or  open  enemy  in 
the  field.  We  are  also  to  engage  with  another  enemy, 
the  grim  spectre  that  kills  eighty  out  of  every  hundred 
who  fall  in  war  —  this  is  our  second,  or  hidden  foe. 
Our  mortality  in  the  conflict  may  reach  a  million  men, 
and  it  is  a  sacrifice  we  are  willing  to  make  to  preserve 
our  freedom  and  our  institutions.  If  this  terrible 
slaughter  occurs  and  the  average  of  the  wars  of  the 
last  two  hundred  years  is  maintained,  two  hundred 
thousand  men  will  fall  on  the  firing  line  or  from 
wounds  and  eight  hundred  thousand  will  die  in  hos- 
pitals from  disease.  For  every  man  who  dies,  there 
will  be  at  least  ten  who  will  be  ill,  some  of  whom 
will  be  permanently  invalided  and  incapacitated  as 
fighting  units.  These  men  will  require  nursing  and 
hospital  care,  necessitating  enormous  expense  and  im- 
pedimenta. We  are  willing  to  sacrifice  the  million 
men,  but  the  element  of  disease  with  its  terrible  cost 
and  impedimenta  must  be  eliminated. 

With  this  point  always  in  view,  she  sent  her  stu- 
dents all  over  the  world  to  study  the  army  systems 
in  other  lands.  With  the  knowledge  thus  garnered 
she  evolved  a  system  of  her  own,  based  on  the  prac- 
tices in  vogue  in  Germany  but  greatly  modified,  and 
the  motto  of  which  might  have  been  "  Prevention,  not 

6 


THE    CONQUEST    OF    THE    SILENT    FOE 

Treatment."  She  reasoned  that  a  medical  man  at 
the  front,  like  a  sentinel  on  duty,  could  prevent  the 
entrance  of  danger,  and  was  thereby  worth  twenty  men 
stationed  in  the  rear  to  treat  sickness  after  it  had 
obtained  a  foothold.  She  organized  her  Medical  De- 
partment on  broad,  generous  lines  and  gave  its  repre- 
sentatives the  rank  and  power  their  great  responsibili- 
ties merit,  recognizing  that  they  had  to  deal  with  a 
foe  that  kills  eighty  per  cent,  of  the  total  mortality. 
She  even  had  the  temerity  (strange  as  it  may  seem 
to  an  English  or  American  army  official)  to  grade  her 
medical  men  as  high  as  the  officers  of  the  line  who 
combat  the  enemy  that  kills  only  twenty  per  cent., 
and  to  accord  them  equal  authority  —  except,  of  course, 
in  the  emergency  of  battle,  when  all  authority  de- 
volves, as  it  should,  on  the  officers  of  the  line.  In  her 
home  land  she  organized  the  most  splendid  system  of 
hospitals  that  has  ever  been  devised  for  the  treatment 
of  sick  and  wounded,  and,  with  her  army  at  the  front, 
she  put  into  execution  the  most  elaborate  and  effective 
system  of  sanitation  that  has  ever  been  practised  in 
war.  Upon  the  declaration  of  war  she  was  prepared 
to  house,  scientifically  treat,  and  tenderly  care  for 
twenty-five  thousand  sick  and  wounded  in  Japan  alone. 
Twelve  sets  of  main  hospitals,  each  with  from  one  to 
five  attached  branch  hospitals,  were  scattered  through- 
out the  empire  in  the  chief  towns  of  the  twelve  mili- 
tary districts  into  which  the  country  is  divided.  In 
other  words,  the  peace  footing  organization  of  the 

7 


Hospital  Service  provided  for  one  main  hospital  and 
necessary  branches  at  the  headquarters  of  each  Army 
Division. 

The  original  odd  twenty-five  thousand  beds  were 
rapidly  increased  in  number  as  the  campaign  pro- 
gressed by  the  erection  of  substantial  though  exceed- 
ingly plain  pine  buildings,  each  running  parallel,  and 
so  constructed  that  every  one  was  a  unit,  housing  a 
hundred  patients,  but  connected  in  series  by  covered 
walks  and  runways. 

Great  elasticity  was  gained  by  this  simple  form  of 
architecture,  for  wards  could  be  tacked  on  indefinitely 
within  the  limitations  of  the  property  area.  Each 
ward  was  practically  isolated,  yet  for  administrative 
purposes  the  whole  was  as  one  building.  Surgical, 
general  medical,  contagious,  and  infectious  ward- 
series  were  wholly  isolated  from  one  another  by  erect- 
ing three  completely  separated  series  on  the  same  plot 
of  land,  each  series  containing  its  calculated  propor- 
tion of  unit  wards  for  the  specific  class  of  cases  for 
which  it  was  designed. 

One  and  a  half  years  after  the  commencement  of 
the  war,  or  on  the  sixth  of  July,  1905,  the  twelve  great 
military  home  hospitals  possessed  a  normal  capacity 
of  58,263  available  beds.  On  this  same  day,  however, 
only  one-half  of  them  were  in  use,  or,  to  be  exact,  there 
were  28,561  patients  in  hospital.  Unofficially,  but  by 
good  authority,  I  have  been  informed  that  the  increase 
in  the  number  of  hospitals  and  beds  was  made  from 

8 


THE    CONQUEST    OF    THE    SILENT    FOE 

time  to  time  upon  figures  deduced  from  other  wars, 
and  the  provisions  made  were  thought  at  first  to  rep- 
resent what  would  be  a  true  relationship  of  the  sick 
and  wounded  to  the  entire  force  in  the  field. 

The  apparent  hospital  overpreparedness  suggests  that 
the  Japanese  themselves  failed  to  realize  what  marked 
successes  would  attend  the  enforcement  of  their  new 
Code  of  Military  Hygiene  and  Sanitation,  as  applied 
for  the  first  time  in  the  field. 

That  it  was  not  really  overpreparedness  was  demon- 
strated after  the  battle  of  Mukden,  when  the  total  ex- 
traordinary hospital  capacity  of  some  eighty  thousand 
beds,  secured  by  crowding,  was  taxed  almost  to  its 
limits  by  the  shattered  phalanxes  which  poured  in 
by  thousands  from  every  transport.  It  is  hardly  likely 
that  the  Military  Authorities  could  have  foreseen  that 
the  Japanese-Eussian  War  would  develop  the  greatest 
recorded  battles  of  the  world,  with  unparalleled  move- 
ments of  fighting  soldiers  and  a  sacrifice  of  men  by 
wounds  so  tremendous  that  even  the  spectator  on  the 
battle-field  fortunately  failed  to  grasp  the  overwhelm- 
ing horror. 

Whether  the  Medical  Department  prepared  this  im- 
mense hospital  system  for  sick  or  wounded  is  of  little 
importance.  The  fact,  however,  is  that  when  the 
ghastly  cortege  from  Mukden  did  arrive  in  Japan  in 
April  there  was  hospital  room  for  every  disabled  man 
of  the  thousands  and  thousands,  and  instant  medical 
attendance  and  care  and  nursing  ready  and  waiting. 

9 


THE    REAL    TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 

These  admirably  managed  military  hospitals  are 
directed  by  trained,  painstaking  specialists  in  each  de- 
partment, and  the  most  advanced  ideas  in  medicine 
and  surgery  are  practised  in  them. 

To  illustrate  one  feature,  attention  might  be  called 
to  scientific  massage,  which  has  been  developed  to  a 
degree  in  Japanese  military  treatment  never  before 
attempted.  Massage  is  a  very  old  institution  in  Japan, 
and  with  the  recent  advancement  made  in  the  precise 
knowledge  of  the  body  the  skilled  masseur  has  been 
able  to  develop  and  adopt  a  system  of  real  muscle  and 
nerve  stimulation  of  the  utmost  importance  in  military 
surgery. 

A  complete  text-book  has  been  written  by  the  mili- 
tary officer  in  charge  on  the  subject  of  massage,  largely 
on  the  basis  of  new  knowledge  acquired  in  treating 
thousands  of  cases  during  the  last  eighteen  months  in 
one  hospital.  About  twenty-five  patients  are  treated 
at  a  time  by  skilled  masseuses  under  the  eye  of  several 
technically  trained  experts,  who  examine  the  cases  and 
explain  to  the  kneaders  the  result  which  it  is  desired 
to  attain.  The  work  is  done  in  drill  form,  i.  e.,  the 
masseuse  at  word  of  command  begins  operations,  works 
for  five  minutes,  rests  two,  then  continues  five  more. 
Ten  minutes  is  usually  the  limit  for  a  single  treat- 
ment, though  the  same  patient  may  come  on  for  sev- 
eral treatments  per  day. 

The  large  class  of  surgical  gymnastics  at  this  hos- 
pital is  exceedingly  interesting  in  that  the  drills  are 

10 


THE    CONQUEST    OF    THE    SILENT    FOE 

mostly  in  the  open  and  make  a  spectacular  display. 
Every  man  with  crippled  joints,  wasted  or  contracted 
muscles,  or  other  physical  deformities  that  can  be  aided 
by  a  specialized  exercise,  is  enrolled  as  a  member  of 
the  class.  Calisthenics  of  various  kind  are  indulged 
in  by  the  men  under  orders,  but  the  class  instead  of 
making  all  the  same  movements  will  be  making  those 
of  particular  advantage  in  each  case.  Parallel  bars, 
horizontal  bars,  swinging  rings,  stair  steps  in  series 
of  varying  heights,  cranks,  horizontal,  vertical,  and 
twisting  handles,  obstacle  bars,  hurdles,  and  several 
other  devices  are  arranged  in  a  pretty  little  grove,  and 
here  the  crippled  go  through  the  motions  by  which  it 
is  hoped  to  bring  them  back  to  normal  physical  stand- 
ards. 

The  pharmaceutical  side  of  these  military  hospitals 
is  an  auxiliary  machine  working  in  perfect  harmony 
with  the  whole.  Like  the  field  service,  it  is  indisputa- 
bly responsible  for  all  the  medical  and  surgical  sup- 
plies, and  issues  them  upon  requisition  of  the  doctors 
and  surgeons.  Besides  this,  the  Department  is  respon- 
sible for  all  sterilized  milk,  washing  of  bandages  and 
rerolling,  disinfection  of  bedding,  and  the  making  of 
chemical  tests  of  urine. 

Every  hospital  throughout  Japan,  and  every  base 
and  field  hospital  in  Manchuria,  has  its  bacteriological 
laboratory. 

Too  much  cannot  be  said  in  enthusiastic  commenda- 
tion of  this  side  of  the  service.  Undoubtedly  the  pains- 

11 


THE    REAL    TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 

taking  research  made  day  by  day,  even  hour  by  hour, 
by  the  corps  of  trained  experts  with  the  microscope, 
that  the  dread  phantom  of  disease  might  be  intercepted, 
has  been  the  means  of  saving  thousands  of  lives  by 
forestalling  possible  epidemics,  and  of  saving  individual 
life  by  prompt  determination  of  troubles.  Whenever  a 
man  suffers  from  temperature  his  blood  goes  under 
the  microscope.  Malaria  is  malaria  and  typhoid  is 
typhoid  in  the  Japanese  Army,  and  not  "  Fever," 
caused  by  inappropriate  and  irritating  rations,  because 
every  case  there  is  differentiated  under  the  microscope 
and  otherwise.  Diseases  are  not  guessed  at,  as  they 
were  in  Cuba,  the  Philippines,  and  South  Africa,  where 
often  for  a  full  week  the  physicians  attempted  to  diag- 
nose cases  by  sleight  of  hand  and  trick  of  eye.  One 
wishes  to  dodge  the  deluge  of  shame  which  shocks  us 
at  the  remembrance  that  we,  a  nation  proud  of  our 
civilization  and  advanced  scientific  methods,  killed 
thousands  of  our  men  through  defective  organization 
and  the  brutal,  if  not  criminal  incompetency  of  those 
in  executive  position,  while  our  friends,  the  Japanese, 
just  awakening  from  so-called  barbarism,  an  Oriental, 
almond-eyed  race,  which  we  have  hitherto  patronized, 
has  shown  us  that  with  proper  forethought,  system, 
and  skill,  men  need  not,  in  appalling  numbers,  rot  and 
die  horribly  in  the  trenches  from  disease. 

Not  content  with  fine  bacteriological  laboratories  in 
every  hospital,  one  often  finds  several  of  the  doctors 
and  surgeons  carrying  on  private  researches  in  their 

12 


THE    CONQUEST    OF   THE    SILENT    FOE 

own  special  wards  with  microscopes  and  appliances 
which  are  their  private  property,  preparing  slides, 
raising  cultures,  and  working  ever  to  find  the  new 
elusive  bacillus  whose  discovery  is  to  bring  them  special 
recognition  and  fame.  When  one  considers  the  mea- 
greness  of  the  salaries  which  these  Japanese  scientists 
receive,  and  the  further  fact  that  most  of  them  are 
poor  men,  it  is  to  realize  that  the  sacrificing  perse- 
verance exhibited,  and  the  enthusiastic  love  of  scientific 
work  shown,  will  take  these  people  a  long  journey 
farther  on  the  road  of  unsummed  knowledge. 

At  this  juncture  the  merest  reference  must  suffice 
to  the  splendid  system  of  sanitation  followed  in  the 
field  —  a  specially  dangerous  field,  too,  because  the 
water-supplies  in  the  territory  where  the  campaign  was 
conducted  had  been  left  infected  with  the  deadly  germs 
of  typhoid,  dysentery,  and  cholera  by  the  retreating 
Eussians  —  and  of  the  water  tests  and  universal  use 
of  boiled  water  for  drinking,  the  physical  training  of 
the  unit  from  barrack  to  battle-field,  and  the  care  ex- 
ercised over  his  baths,  his  sleep,  and  his  rations.  Suf- 
fice it  to  say  that  during  the  campaign  extending  over 
a  year  and  a  half,  with  from  three  hundred  thousand 
to  six  hundred  thousand  soldiers  undergoing  the  sever- 
est hardships  and  privations  of  active  service,  there 
were  in  the  Japanese  Army  thirty-six  out  of  every 
hundred  who  never  reported  at  sick  call:  thirty-six 
men  who  never  saw  the  inside  of  a  hospital  or  were 
sick  hi  quarters  —  a  record  absolutely  unparalleled.  In 

13 


THE    REAL    TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 

every  other  recorded  campaign  it  has  been  found  that 
usually  once  during  a  period  of  every  three  to  five 
months  each  soldier  in  his  organization,  or  an  aver- 
age of  that  number,  has  reported  to  the  military  medi- 
cal officer  for  treatment. 

I  have  just  returned  from  the  headquarters  of  the 
Second  Imperial  Army  on  the  Mongolian  frontier, 
commanded  by  General  Oku,  where  I  found  the  busi- 
est instrument  in  the  campaign  was  not  the  Murata 
rifle,  but  the  monocular  microscope.  My  opportunities 
for  observation  were  unexcelled,  as  the  Imperial  Gov- 
ernment in  its  extreme  courtesy  accorded  me  all  the 
privileges  of  a  foreign  military  attache;  and  weeks 
were  spent  in  the  military  hospitals  of  Japan,  prior 
and  subsequent  to  my  visit  to  the  front. 

The  war  has  taught  many  lessons  and  destroyed  many 
ideals  in  matters  military  as  in  matters  surgical,  where 
the  heretofore  accepted  idea  of  the  duties  of  the  mili- 
tary surgeon  has  been  shown  to  be  erroneous,  where 
asepsis  and  antisepsis  have  relegated  the  use  of  the 
scalpel  to  comparative  obscurity  and  demonstrated  con- 
clusively that  preservation  of  the  army  by  prevention 
of  disease  is  the  surgeon's  duty,  first,  last,  and  nearly 
all  the  time.  In  surgical  technique,  or  in  the  after- 
treatment  of  the  wounded  and  sick,  the  Japanese  have 
taught  the  foreigner  comparatively  little,  but  in  the 
field  of  sanitary  science  and  dietetics  they  have  demon- 
strated, what  has  never  been  done  before,  that  pre- 
ventable diseases  are  preventable  and  that  the  grim 

14 


THE    CONQUEST    OF    THE    SILENT    FOE 

spectre,  which  lingers  in  every  barrack,  tent,  and 
quarter,  can  be  controlled.  They  have  demonstrated 
that  the  great  incubus  of  an  army  in  the  field,  the 
presence  of  crowded  hospitals  and  the  large  and  ex- 
pensive force  necessary  to  equip  and  conduct  them, 
can,  to  a  large  extent,  be  eliminated.  They  have  pre- 
served their  armies  for  the  legitimate  purposes  for 
which  armies  are  enlisted  —  the  killing  or  conquering 
of  an  open  enemy  in  the  field,  instead  of  having  four- 
fifths  of  its  mortality  victims  to  the  silent  foe. 

It  is  against  this  dreadful  scourge,  this  needless  sac- 
rifice, that  the  Japanese  have  made  their  hardest  fight 
and  won  their  most  signal  victories  —  victories  that 
will  redound  more  to  their  credit  than  the  expulsion 
of  the  Muscovite  aggressor. 

In  the  matter  of  discipline,  Captain  Tanake,  aide-de- 
camp of  Marshal  Oyama,  told  me  at  Mukden  there 
had  been  but  twelve  court  martials  in  the  Manchurian 
Army,  most  of  which  were  for  cruelties  to  Chinamen. 
The  number  of  suicides  during  the  year  was  eighty- 
six.  The  majority  were  men  who  were  refused  per- 
mission to  accompany  the  colours  to  Manchuria  on 
account  of  some  physical  defect,  and  the  remainder 
because  they  preferred  death  to  capture  by  the  enemy. 
There  were  no  desertions,  unless  the  act  of  a  fanatical 
pharmacist,  who  was  caught  by  the  screen  of  the  Jap- 
anese near  Mukden,  disguised  as  a  Chinese  coolie  and 
concealing  on  his  person  a  quantity  of  poison,  could 
be  so  called.  This  poor  boy  imagined  himself  the  de- 

15 


THE    REAL    TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 

liverer  of  Japan  and  attempted  to  gain  admission  to 
the  presence  of  Kuropatkin  as  a  servant  for  the  pur- 
pose of  poisoning  him,  as  he  regarded  Kuropatkin  as 
the  bitterest  enemy  of  his  country.  He  was  court- 
martialed  and  severely  punished.  Was  there  ever  an 
army  with  such  a  record? 


16 


CHAPTER  II. 

VISITS  TO   HOSPITALS 

NEXT  to  witnessing  the  carnage  of  the  battle-field 
a  visit  to  a  series  of  military  hospitals  best  re- 
veals the  story  of  war.  In  the  hospitals  the 
horrors  are  lessened  by  the  ministrations  of  nurses, 
alleviating  the  pain  and  distress.  Far  removed  from 
the  excitement  of  battle,  and  far  beyond  the  rejoic- 
ings over  a  victory,  the  wards  of  a  hospital,  with  their 
daily  routine,  have  their  own  peculiar  story  of  war. 
It  is  a  story  of  lofty  sacrifice,  and  is  told  in  silent  suf- 
fering, in  exaltation  rather  than  exultation,  that  has 
its  highest  triumph,  whether  ending  in  recovery  or  in 
passing  to  the  Great  Beyond,  in  the  conviction  of  duty 
faithfully  performed.  Exceedingly  interesting,  there- 
fore, was  it  to  visit  these  centres  of  interest,  the  mili- 
tary hospitals,  and  get  their  stories  in  part  from  Tokio 
to  the  firing  line.  It  was  at  the  Shibuya  Hospital 
one  afternoon  early  in  May  that  one  could  witness  the 
manifestations  of  the  tender  regard  in  which  the  sick 
or  wounded  soldier  is  held  in  the  land  of  Nippon.  And 
it  was  also  at  that  hospital  on  the  same  afternoon  that 
I  experienced  the  most  delightful  surprise  of  my  trip, 

17 


THE  REAL  TRIUMPH  OF  JAPAN 

delightful  because  of  its  unostentatious  spirit  of  solici- 
tude for  the  sick  and  wounded  by  one  for  whom  the 
American  people  have  a  peculiar  regard. 

In  the  beautifully  wooded  enclosure  were  hundreds 
of  convalescent  patients  in  their  long  white  kimonos 
seated  or  standing  on  the  sloping  ground  of  a  little 
natural  amphitheatre,  in  the  centre  of  which  were  some 
three  hundred  school  boys  and  girls  entertaining  the 
soldiers  with  music  and  outdoor  games.  This  cus- 
tom is  common  at  the  hospitals,  but  the  programme 
made  that  afternoon  unusually  pleasant.  The  boys 
marched  and  went  through  various  military  setting-up 
exercises  and  other  evolutions,  with  fencing,  tugs  of 
war,  and  various  athletic  games,  while  the  girls  amused 
the  soldiers  by  songs  and  calisthenic  exercises,  march- 
ing to  music  and  dancing. 

The  sole  purpose  was  to  lighten  the  burdens  of  the 
afflicted  soldiers,  and  many  a  man,  as  he  limped  back 
to  his  ward  that  afternoon,  had  a  happy  light  in  his 
eyes  and  a  smile  on  his  face  that  plainly  betrayed  his 
happiness  at  having  been  permitted  to  suffer  for  his 
Emperor  and  for  his  country. 

While  inspecting  the  hospital,  we  were  joined  by  a 
party  of  visitors  accompanied  by  a  nurse  of  most  gen- 
tle manners  who  seemed  to  be  especially  conversant 
with  the  affairs  of  the  hospital  and  spoke  English  per- 
fectly. She  put  herself  to  serious  inconvenience  to 
get  information  and  to  arrange  that  I  should  see  all 
I  desired.  Upon  my  mentioning  that  I  was  a  physi- 

18 


VISITS    TO    HOSPITALS 

cian  from  America  and  about  starting  for  the  front, 
she  said :  — 

"  Then  I  must  show  you  another  department,  where 
our  First  Aid  packages  are  made.  I  cannot  take  you 
into  the  room,  because  the  rules  provide  that  a  special 
dress  must  be  worn  and  all  antiseptic  precautions  ob- 
served, but  you  can  look  through  the  glass  partition." 

After  she  had  explained  the  various  processes  in 
making  the  packages,  I  expressed  a  desire  to  obtain 
one,  and  she  replied :  — 

"I  will  try  to  get  it,  but  first  I  must  ask  permis- 
sion." 

This  being  granted,  she  presented  me  with  a  pack- 
age and  expressed  the  hope  that  I  would  not  find  oc- 
casion to  use  it. 

An  interesting  conversation  followed  on  topics  of 
the  war  and  the  work  of  the  hospitals.  She  had  been 
so  considerate  that,  as  I  turned  to  leave,  I  asked  her 
name,  so  I  might  send  her  some  books  and  pamphlets 
which  might  interest  her.  Quietly  and  with  a  manner 
that  was  almost  shy,  she  replied :  — 

"  I  think  I  have  a  card  with  me." 

Then  she  produced  her  card-case  and  presented  the 
following :  — 


'V 


19 


She  noticed  my  expression  of  surprise,  and  I  hast- 
ened to  explain  that  I  had  several  letters  of  intro- 
duction to  her,  but  owing  to  my  short  stay  and  her 
many  engagements  I  had  not  had  the  opportunity  of 
presenting  them,  and  also  that  I  had  failed  to  recog- 
nize her,  not  having  had  the  slightest  expectation  of 
meeting  her  in  a  nurse's  dress.  To  relieve  my  em- 
barrassment, she  replied  quickly :  — 

"It  was  quite  natural  you  should  not  recognize  me, 
and  indeed  I  had  no  intention  of  revealing  my  iden- 
tity until  you  asked  my  name.  You  see  every  one  is 
helping  in  our  national  emergency.  I  am  glad  to  do 
the  little  I  can." 

The  marchioness  devoted  four  afternoons  every  week 
to  hospital  work  and,  in  addition,  always  tried  to  be 
at  the  station  when  the  train-loads  of  wounded  arrived. 
She  spoke  enthusiastically  of  her  life  in  America,  es- 
pecially at  Vassar  College  and  of  her  earlier  days  in 
New  Haven.  There  was  one  of  the  greatest  women 
of  Japan  serving  in  the  ranks,  in  the  common  cause 
of  patriotic  endeavour,  forgetting  all  save  country,  and 
unostentatiously  comforting  the  humblest  subject  of 
the  Emperor  who  had  served  with  the  colours.  Her 
work  was  a  beautiful  manifestation  of  the  lofty  spirit 
of  self-sacrifice  and  devotion  shown  by  Japanese  women, 
and  as  one  of  tens  of  thousands  of  Americans  who  feel 
proud  because  she  seemed  almost  one  of  our  own  peo- 
ple, it  is  a  pleasure  to  pay  this  tribute  of  sincere  re- 
spect. 

20 


VISITS    TO    HOSPITALS 

A  month  later  I  mentioned  this  incident  to  Marshal 
Oyama  in  his  Headquarters  in  Mukden.  He  nodded, 
and  a  smile  illumined  his  countenance  as  he  replied :  — 

"  Yes,  that  was  my  wife.     Every  one  is  helping." 

While  each  Divisional  Keserve  Hospital  and  its 
auxiliaries  cared  mainly  for  the  sick  and  wounded 
enrolled  in  the  particular  military  organization  they 
represented,  the  hospitals  of  Southern  Japan  and 
coast  ports  naturally  received  the  suffering,  irrespective 
of  commands. 

This  was  particularly  true  of  the  Hiroshima  hos- 
pitals, which  constituted  the  primary  Receiving  Sta- 
tions of  Japan.  Second  to  this  came  Osaka.  Patients 
from  Receiving  Hospitals  were  transported  as  rapidly 
as  possible  to  their  respective  hospitals  nearest  in  the 
regions  from  which  they  hailed. 

Tokio  Reserve  Hospitals  constitute  a  different  group 
in  that,  besides  all  their  own  home  soldier  patients, 
most  of  the  specially  interesting  and  unusual  medical 
and  surgical  cases  from  other  sections  are  sent  there 
for  treatment  by  specialists,  provided  they  can  be 
safely  transported.  This,  coupled  with  the  fact  that 
more  divisions  of  soldiers  belong  to  the  Tokio  military 
district  than  to  any  other,  helps  make  the  capital  of  the 
Empire  the  greatest  hospital  centre. 

Let  us  then  hang  the  principal  descriptive  narration 
respecting  military  hospitals  in  Japan  upon  the  visits 
paid  the  main  hospital  and  the  five  branches,  known  as 


21 


THE    REAL    TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 

Shibuya,  Touama,  Hikawa,  Hiroo,  and  Sendagoyo 
hospitals. 

The  main  hospital  at  Tokio  is  situated  almost  in  the 
heart  of  the  city,  just  opposite  the  magnificent  Impe- 
rial Palace  Gardens  and  quite  near  the  War  Depart- 
ment Buildings. 

Outside  the  gateway  at  nine  o'clock  every  morning 
stood  a  long  line  of  rickshaws  and  their  runners,  each 
tiny  cart  occupied  by  a  convalescent  soldier  in  his  white 
hospital  kimono  and  a  white  cotton  Tam-o'-shanter  on 
his  head.  Inside  the  gate,  too,  and  reaching  back  to 
the  hospital  doors  on  either  side  of  the  well-swept  road- 
way were  lined  up  more  of  the  white-gowned  patients, 
all  expectant,  all  cheerful,  and  most  of  them  laughing 
and  smiling.  A  quick  order  by  the  medical  officer  in 
charge,  and  the  shafts  of  150  rickshaws  were  raised 
to  the  horizontal  by  the  runners;  another  word,  and 
they  wheeled  into  line  and  ambulated  away  in  one 
long  succession. 

The  main  hospital  admitted  no  cases  except  the  more 
serious  ones,  and  as  the  patients  rapidly  convalesced, 
they  were  distributed  among  the  branches  where  less 
serious  cases  were  taken  care  of,  though  a  few  who 
were  well  enough  were  allowed  to  go  to  the  mineral 
springs  or  other  private  places,  after  constant  medical 
attendance  was  no  longer  necessary. 

The  main  hospital  is  a  prominent  institution  dur- 
ing peace  times  and,  together  with  the  Eed  Cross  Hos- 
pital, otherwise  known  as  Shibuya,  constitutes  the  es- 

22 


I 


<   ~ 
s-i    y 


VISITS    TO    HOSPITALS 

tablishment  for  taking  care  of  the  sick  soldier  during 
normal  times,  and  few  changes  were  made  on  account 
of  the  war. 

The  capacity  of  the  main  hospital  is  about  five  hun- 
dred. The  general  plan  of  arrangements  of  buildings 
is  not  at  all  that  seen  in  the  new  type  of  hospitals 
adopted  for  war  times.  Of  the  fourteen  wards  only 
seven  are  connected  by  runways,  and  then  the  interven- 
ing space  between  each  building  is  at  least  forty  feet, 
or  double  that  usually  allowed  in  the  new  edifices. 
All  other  wards  stand  as  separate  buildings,  amid  most 
beautiful  shade-trees,  surrounded  by  gardens  and  cut 
by  winding  paths  which  wander  in  and  out,  revealing 
at  every  turn  fascinating  scenic  marvels  so  dear  to 
the  heart  of  every  nature-loving  Japanese. 

The  Main  Hospital  performs  the  function  of  the 
general  administrative  centre  for  all  the  five  branch 
hospitals,  so  that  the  office  buildings  and  clerical  staff 
are  imposing  and  important  features  here.  At  the 
branch  hospitals  one  was  astonished  at  the  exceedingly 
small  clerical  staff  kept  to  battle  with  the  paper  work. 
All  trains  bearing  wounded  for  Tokio  were  reported 
at  this  hospital;  and  the  number  of  patients,  the  char- 
acter of  the  trouble,  whether  the  patient  could  walk 
alone,  needed  only  some  assistance  or  must  be  carried 
on  stretcher,  the  probable  time  of  the  arriving  train, 
etc.,  was  all  mentioned. 

Upon  receipt  of  this  information  proper  preliminary 
assignments  were  made  to  the  various  hospitals  and 

23 


THE    REAL    TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 

rickshaws;  and  litter-bearers  and  doctors  assembled  at 
the  station  to  see  them  safely  to  their  final  destination 
—  to  say  nothing  of  the  angels  of  mercy,  the  Japanese 
women  of  rank,  who  charmingly  greeted  each  soldier 
as  he  passed  them  on  the  station  platform.  . 

Daily  reports  of  all  the  branches  were  received  at 
the  Main  Hospital,  including  every  division  of  hospital 
service  as  well  as  that  respecting  the  patients  them- 
selves, so  that  proper  transfers  of  the  sick  or  injured 
might  be  made  for  special  treatment,  that  food  sup- 
plies, medicines,  and  general  medical  and  surgical 
supplies  might  be  purchased  and  supplied  in  desired 
quantities,  and  that  general  financial  affairs  and  emolu- 
ments of  officials  and  assistants  might  be  met. 

At  the  Main  Hospital  one  found  a  larger  percentage 
of  contagious  and  infectious  diseases  than  anywhere 
else  in  Tokio,  there  being  on  July  6th  alone  fifty-two 
cases  out  of  a  total  of  470  patients.  The  Shibuya 
branch  hospital,  on  July  6th,  out  of  1,386  patients  had 
but  fifty-one  cases  of  typhoid  and  dysentery  and  about 
a  dozen  of  tuberculosis.  Not  a  case  of  cholera  or 
bubonic  plague  had  so  far  been  reported  in  the  army. 
Although  smallpox  may  be  said  to  be  almost  endemic 
in  the  Far  East,  there  had  been  but  170  cases  in  a 
year  and  a  half  of  warfare. 

There  were  some  disappointments  in  this  Main  Hos- 
pital —  and  I  do  not  think  I  was  hypercritical.  The 
wooden  floors  were  rough  and  only  fairly  clean;  the 
beds  were  either  clumsy,  black  iron  ones,  or  wooden 

24 


VISITS    TO    HOSPITALS 

bunks  heavily  made  with  board  floors,  for  no  such  thing 
as  a  spring  existed.  The  soldiers  lay  on  uneven  cotton- 
wadded  futons,  or  comforts,  and  the  same  sort  of 
things  was  used  for  covering,  and  those  together  with 
the  white-wadded  gowns  of  the  patients  were  not  al- 
ways scrupulously  clean.  There  were  no  mosquito- 
nettings  anywhere,  not  even  in  the  kitchens.  This 
was  a  somewhat  depressing  beginning,  for  after  one 
year's  war  in  the  Philippines,  certain  American  mili- 
tary surgeons  succeeded  in  developing,  against  the 
constant  if  not  always  open  opposition  of  the  Com- 
manding General,  two  reserve  hospitals  which  were 
superior  to  this  main  Japanese  hospital.  These  two 
were  the  2d  and  3d  Reserve  Hospitals  at  Manila.  The 
23.  Reserve,  particularly,  housed  in  a  magnificent  build- 
ing, displayed  beautifully  polished  floors,  where  not  a 
speck  of  dust  was  visible ;  the  rows  upon  rows  of  light 
wooden  folding  cots  with  wire  springs  and  thin  hair 
mattresses,  covered  with  immaculate  white  sheets,  clean 
blankets  and  mosquito-nettings,  and  unsoiled  paja- 
mas, was  an  institution  of  which  to  be  proud.  The 
kitchens,  too,  of  this  establishment  were  kept  scrupu- 
lously clean,  although  not  fly-proof. 

It  is  a  pleasure  to  pay  tribute  to  some  of  our  earlier 
military  hospitals  and  to  find  they  compared  favourably 
with  those  of  Japan,  for  Heaven  knows  some  of  them, 
during  mobilization  and  after  our  war  began,  were 
frightful  distributing  agencies  of  disease  and  death, 
and  were  so  conducted  administratively  as  to  retard 

25 


THE    REAL    TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 

rather  than  enhance  the  chances  of  the  patients'  re- 
covery—  notably  the  receiving  hospital  at  Montauk 
Point.  Witness  also  as  bearing  testimony  to  this  state- 
ment the  earlier  stages  of  the  1st  Reserve  Hospital 
in  Manila,  commonly  known  as  the  "  Otis'  Hospital," 
where  the  general  commanding,  not  content  with  the 
jamming  of  poor  wretches  into  the  hot  pestering  wards, 
like  sardines,  permitted  the  erection  of  tents  upon  the 
water-logged  grounds  in  the  narrow  intervening  spaces 
between  the  buildings,  thus  completely  cutting  off  all 
chances  of  air  circulation.  The  miserable  cotton  houses 
were  crowded  with  sufferers  until  the  nurses  could 
hardly  squeeze  alongside  the  cots,  and  even  had  diffi- 
culty in  passing  through  the  narrow  aisles  without 
jostling  the  beds  of  pain. 

This  digression  is  deliberately  slighting  the  thread 
of  my  description,  but  I  reserve  the  right,  and  crave 
the  reader's  indulgence,  to  make  comparisons  through- 
out of  our  own  unhappy  army  hospital  and  medical 
history  with  that  of  the  Japanese  in  the  earnest  hope 
that  by  reiteration  of  fact  in  manifold  form  the  Pres- 
ident, the  Cabinet,  the  Army,  the  Congress,  and  the 
People  of  the  United  States  will  take  heed  of  what  the 
Yellow  Man  of  the  Orient  has  done,  and  will  realize 
the  positive  criminality  in  ever  again  going  to  war  un- 
prepared to  combat  preventable  disease. 

"Upon  the  question  of  flies  it  may  be  said  that  Japan 
seems  peculiarly  free  from  this  common  pest,  and  the 
few  which  invade  houses  spend  their  days  buzzingly 

26 


VISITS    TO    HOSPITALS 

suspended  almost  constantly  in  one  spot.  While  I 
saw  flies  upon  the  food  they  were  comparatively  harm- 
less, as  I  found  the  latrines  were  absolutely  free  from 
them,  and  the  contents  of  the  carefully  covered  buckets 
freely  poisoned  with  disinfectants.  While  the  food 
was  served  in  kitchens  not  always  scrupulously  clean, 
it  was  taken  from  boiling  cauldrons  and  placed  in 
sterilized  covered  lacquered  boxes  with  rice,  and  on 
sterilized  earthenware  plates  with  other  viands. 

Mosquitoes  do  not  appear  in  Tokio  in  any  numbers 
until  the  middle  of  July.  At  some  of  the  hospitals 
netting  was  being  added  to  cover  the  patients'  cots. 
In  some  of  the  branch  hospitals  attempts  had  been 
made  to  isolate  the  anopheles  or  malaria-bearing  mos- 
quito, but  without  success.  The  extremely  low  per- 
centage of  recognized  malaria,  amounting  to  only  1,257 
cases  in  the  entire  army  in  eighteen  months,  would 
indicate  the  practical  absence  of  the  malaria-inoculat- 
ing mosquito  in  the  area  of  hostilities  in  Manchuria 
or  in  Japan.  That  malaria  is  not  confused  with  other 
diseases  can  be  positively  stated,  as  the  diagnosis  is 
always  made  by  the  aid  of  the  microscope. 

One  who  has  had  hospital  training  is  immediately 
impressed  by  the  fact  that  nurses  are  not  in  constant 
attendance  upon  patients  as  in  our  own  hospitals.  The 
nurses  stay  in  an  anteroom  and  only  attend  patients 
upon  call  or  when  the  time  has  arrived  for  ministering 
to  the  patient's  needs.  There  was  no  crowding  of 
patients  in  the  wards,  and  during  all  my  visits  no 

27 


recollection  comes  of  having  seen  a  nurse  fan  a  sick 
man.  However,  every  man  has  his  fan,  a  donation 
from  persons,  guilds,  and  associations,  and  upon  a 
number  of  visits  I  have  been  offered  these  mementoes 
by  the  soldiers,  the  fans  bearing  upon  their  surfaces 
patriotic  utterances  and  verses. 

As  we  walked  through  the  long  wards,  with  nurses 
and  attendants  and  patients  all  smilingly  bowing,  ex- 
cept a  few  poor  fellows  lying  prone,  the  doctors  dis- 
cussed the  new  medical  war  records  Japan  was  mak- 
ing, and  modestly  ascribed  them  in  large  part,  as  many 
others  had  before  and  have  since,  to  the  greater  train- 
ing the  soldier  of  that  war  had  received  in  hygiene 
and  sanitation.  That  was  no  doubt  correct,  and  true 
also  is  it  that  the  Japanese  soldier  has  been  the  best 
in  the  world  to  obey  orders.  The  American  Army  can 
never  hope  to  emulate  the  Japanese  until  the  time 
shall  have  arrived  when,  through  reorganization  of  its 
Medical  Department,  the  surgeon  shall  have  executive 
instead  of  merely  advisory  privileges  in  matters  of 
hygiene  and  sanitation  in  barrack  and  field;  and  until 
the  line  officer  shall  display  the  same  courtesy  and  re- 
spect to  the  medical  expert  as  does  his  Japanese  brother- 
in-arms. 

Throughout  the  Main  Hospital  girls  are  used  as 
nurses:  an  uncommon  feature,  taking  the  hospitals  as 
a  whole  throughout  Japan.  In  Tokio  girls  appeared 
elsewhere  only  in  Shibuya  Hospital  and  in  the  operat- 
ing-rooms of  some  of  the  other  branches. 

28 


VISITS    TO    HOSPITALS 

In  the  operating-room  stands  a  very  modern,  adjust- 
able, glass-topped  operating-table.  The  staff  is  very 
proud  of  it.  It  is,  indirectly,  the  donation  of  a  coterie 
of  Philadelphia  and  New  York  surgeons  and  physi- 
cians. An  engraved  plate  bearing  the  names  of  the 
donors  was  upon  the  table  —  a  galaxy  of  well-known 
benefactors  —  but  the  only  name  which  is  recalled  at 
the  moment  is  that  of  Dr.  Weir  Mitchell,  of  Philadel- 
phia. The  Japanese  surgeons  exhibited  considerable 
feeling  in  their  expression  of  appreciation  for  the  senti- 
ment and  sympathy  of  the  American  medical  fraternity 
as  exemplified  in  the  gift. 

By  all  odds  the  largest  and  most  interesting  mili- 
tary hospital  in  Tokio  is  known  as  the  Toyama  branch. 
It  lies  five  miles  out  in  a  northwesterly  direction  from 
the  Ginza  or  main  business  street,  so  well-known  to 
foreigners,  in  the  suburbs  anciently  given  over  to  the 
parks  of  the  daimios  and  feudal  gods.  In  fact,  the 
hospital  buildings  lie  in  an  immense  artificial  wilder- 
ness, originally  created  by  the  Feudal  Lord  Tokugawa 
Owari,  one  of  the  Shogun's  relatives.  In  all  these  are 
two  hundred  thousand  tsubo  (1  tsubo  =  36  square  feet) 
of  charmingly  diversified  land,  cut  by  streams,  dotted 
with  tiny  lakes,  rich  in  sunny  meadow-lands,  and  caress- 
ing in  shady  bowers,  so  beautiful  in  all  that  it  stirs 
the  numbed  senses  of  the  emaciated  and  crippled  soldier 
toward  recovery,  rivalling  in  beneficial  effect  the  best 
efforts  of  the  doctor  and  surgeon. 

Seventy  thousand  tsubo  of  this  park  are  known  as 
29 


THE    REAL    TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 

the  Fifty-three  Relays,  because  it  is  a  miniature  topo- 
graphic map  of  the  old  fifty-three  relay  stations  on 
the  great  highway  between  the  southern  island  of 
Kyushu  and  Tokio.  The  winding  footpath  carries 
one,  stage  by  stage,  for  a  two-mile  walk  over  the  prom- 
inent features  of  seven  hundred  miles  of  landscape. 
The  vertical  perspective,  of  course,  is  very  much  exag- 
gerated, and  the  artificial  mountains  are  well-nigh  im- 
passable in  their  craggy  abruptness. 

In  the  building  of  this  bit  of  landscape  it  is  said 
millions  of  yen  were  expended  on  expert  gardeners 
and  labourers,  and  years  were  consumed  before  its 
completion.  How  the  spirits  of  the  builders,  the  pa- 
triotic shades  of  the  dead  which  every  Japanese  be- 
lieves ever  present,  must  rejoice  in  the  happiness  and 
pleasure  which  thousands  of  the  maimed  heroes  have 
derived  from  this  nature's  fairy-land! 

The  quarantine  and  sanitary  regulations  of  Toyama 
were  exceedingly  strict.  No  one  could  enter  its  gates 
until  after  examination  by  a  medical  officer,  constantly 
on  duty  at  the  entrance.  When  one  passed  muster  and 
had  also  the  necessary  credentials,  a  small  card  was 
handed  him  which  stated  that  for  that  day  and  date 
he  was  free  from  disease.  That  card  had  to  be  returned 
on  leaving  and  its  loss  might  delay  one  until  he  was 
vouched  for  by  the  chief  officer  of  the  hospital.  One 
was  not  allowed  to  pass  freely  from  the  infectious 
wards  to  the  surgical  wards,  and  in  several  visits  made 
to  the  hospital  the  contagious  ward  was  always  visited 

30 


VISITS    TO    HOSPITALS 

last,  and  I  was  not  permitted  to  return  to  the  main 
office,  though  invited  to  wash  my  hands  in  antiseptic 
solution.  The  Assistant  Chief  assured  me  that  all 
possible  precaution  was  observed  to  prevent  the  trans- 
ference of  disease  in  the  hospital  or  its  introduction 
from  the  outside. 

There  were  fifty-one  wards  in  this  hospital,  divided 
into  three  main  groups  of  buildings.  The  surgical 
series  had  twenty  wards,  two  of  which  were  entirely 
devoted  to  the  extremely  severe  and  critical  cases, 
another  ward  was  specialized  for  eye  wounds,  another 
for  wounds  of  the  mouth  and  another  for  injuries  to 
the  ear,  eye,  and  nose  in  different  combinations.  Fif- 
teen wards  were  devoted  to  medical  cases  from  the 
front.  The  serious  and  infectious  and  contagious  cases, 
however,  passed  to  the  third  series  of  wards,  sur- 
rounded by  a  high  palisade.  The  two  infectious  wards 
were  again  separated  from  the  others.  Six  wards  of  the 
last  series  were  reserved  for  home  patients  or  cases  not 
from  the  front. 

Each  ward  had  its  own  officers,  reception  and  dress- 
ing rooms.  There  was  one  large  general  operating- 
room  for  the  entire  hospital,  with  its  connected  band- 
age and  instrument  preparing-room,  and  several 
smaller  operating-rooms  for  specialized  troubles. 

Only  in  some  of  the  medical  wards  did  cots  appear; 
throughout  the  rest  of  the  hospital  the  men  had  their 
bedding  direct  on  the  floor.  In  this  connection  the 
surgeons  stated  that,  from  a  sanitary  point  of  view, 

31 


THE    REAL    TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 

beds  were  better  for  patients,  but  I  was  much  impressed 
with  the  still  greater  cleanliness  of  those  wards  in 
which  beds  did  not  appear. 

In  these  latter  wards  no  one  was  allowed  to  enter 
with  shoes  on,  but  had  to  put  on  the  sandals  kept 
ready  at  the  doorways.  The  floors  were  wiped  up  care- 
fully each  morning  with  damp  rags  and  often  washed 
with  antiseptics. 

It  would  be  difficult  to  devise  a  cheaper  successful 
hospital  than  this  one,  with  no  furniture  except  the 
wadded  cotton  mattresses  and  wadded  cotton  over- 
covering.  A  shelf  under  the  window-ledge  running  the 
length  of  the  room  gave  the  patients  all  the  place  they 
needed  for  personal  effects  and  books. 

The  buildings  were  large,  light,  and  airy,  with  plenty 
of  window-glass  on  each  side  and  big  ventilators  at 
intervals  near  the  roof.  Each  ward  building,  divided 
in  the  middle  by  the  passageway  or  hall,  had  on  either 
side  of  the  hall  two  waiting-rooms  for  nurses  and  doc- 
tors, and  a  tea  or  hot-water  room,  where  night  or  day 
one  might  secure  a  cup  of  clear,  unsweetened  Japanese 
tea,  or  simply  a  cup  of  plain  hot  water,  of  which  every 
Japanese  is  so  fond. 

The  wards  for  very  serious  cases  were  divided  into 
separate  rooms,  two  beds  in  each,  and  in  the  serious 
medical  wards  hand-basins  filled  with  disinfecting  solu- 
tion stood  along  the  hallway  in  which  doctors  and  nurses 
were  expected  to  wash  after  contact  with  patients.  It 
is  not  inappropriate  to  call  attention  to  the  fact  that 

32 


VISITS    TO    HOSPITALS 

all  phthisical  patients  were  expected  to  pull  a  little 
cheese-cloth  bag  over  their  mouths  as  soon  as  the  physi- 
cian entered.  Wherever  there  is  suggested  a  necessity 
for  the  prevention  of  the  spread  of  disease  we  find  our 
yellow  friends  advancing  some  specific  device  or  regula- 
tion for  that  purpose. 

All  night-soil,  garbage,  and  waste  throughout  the 
buildings  and  grounds  was  carefully  burned  each  day 
in  a  crematory.  The  latrines  were  covered  boxes  kept 
carefully  treated  with  disinfectants.  Mosquito-net- 
tings were  used  to  cover  the  beds  after  July  1st,  and 
flies  were  killed  off  by  the  liberal  use  of  klaosene  (a 
coal-tar  product)  on  the  floors  and  places  where  they 
were  likely  to  gather. 

The  staff  of  this  greatest  of  Tokio  hospitals  was 
composed  as  follows :  — 


2  Surgeon  Majors  4  Contract  Apothecaries 

7  Surgeon  Captains  553  Men  Nurses 

2  Surgeon  Lieutenants  36  Temporary  Men  Nurses 

10  Surgeon  2d  Lieutenants  15  Accountants 

1  Apothecary  Captain  123  General  Employees 

1  Apothecary  Lieiitenant  4  Cleaners  of  Medical  Instruments 

13  Apothecary  2d  Lieutenants  13  Cooks 

1  Paymaster  Captain  42  Waiters 

28  Contract  Surgeons 

ASSISTANTS    FROM    IMPERIAL    UNIVERSITY 

9  Professors  —  Surgeons  and  Physicians 
8  Assistant  Professors  —  Surgeons  and  Physicians 
12  Others 

33 


THE    REAL    TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 

ASSISTANTS   FROM    JAPANESE    RED    CRO98   8OCIBTT 

4  Surgeons  and  Physicians 
2  Apothecaries 
2  Clerks 

4  Chief  Nurses  (women) ")  in  operating  room  and  bandage 
39  Nurses  (women)  )  preparing  rooms 

To  understand  the  use  and  distribution  of  this  staff, 
let  us  take  the  list  of  patients  for  one  day  in  this  hos- 
pital. On  July  7th  there  was  a  total  of  2,789  patients, 
which  meant  one  nurse  for  every  four  or  five  patients, 
not  including  the  women  nurses  assigned  exclusively 
to  the  operating-room.  There  were  fifty-three  surgeons 
and  physicians,  including  the  Eed  Cross  doctors,  who 
were  always  on  duty,  and  excluding  the  twenty-nine 
consulting  medical  men  of  the  Imperial  University, 
who  did  not  belong  to  the  army  organization  and  were 
not  under  its  orders  directly  but  who  devoted  a  great 
deal  of  their  time  to  this  humane  work.  This  gave 
each  medical  officer  the  supervision  of  more  than  fifty 
patients. 

The  wards  were  so  divided  that  every  two  were  in 
charge  of  a  chief  steward,  sergeants  in  rank  but  divided 
into  three  grades.  These  men,  with  the  assistance  of 
some  of  the  nurses,  kept  all  the  necessary  daily  records, 
and  in  this  connection  it  should  be  stated  that  a  patient 
travelled  with  the  history  of  his  case  accompanying 
him.  For  example,  when  wounded  or  sick  he  was  en- 
tered at  the  Field  Hospital,  where  the  history  of  his 
case  began,  in  duplicate;  after  which  he  was  sent  back 

34 


VISITS    TO    HOSPITALS 

toward  Japan.  The  authority  in  charge  of  a  party 
of  sick  or  wounded  was  armed  with  the  papers  of  every 
case  and  was  required  to  submit  them  at  the  next 
hospital  or  station  together  with  his  patient.  These 
original  papers  were  never  separated  from  a  man 
farther  than  his  particular  ward,  though  duplicates 
were  made  out  and  sent  immediately  to  the  main  office 
for  file.  In  complicated  and  prolonged  cases  these 
papers  became  somewhat  voluminous,  particularly  if 
the  patient  was  transferred  several  times  to  different 
hospitals  so  that  new  specialists  might  have  an  oppor- 
tunity to  use  their  skill  where  others  had  failed.  I 
saw  histories  filled  with  blood-stained  drawings,  with 
sheets  crumpled  and  worn  amid  the  cleaner  later  story. 
Only  when  the  man  died,  or  was  finally  discharged 
from  hospital,  was  he  separated  from  these  papers, 
which  were  then  forwarded  to  the  Main  Army  Medical 
Eecord  Office. 

Everywhere  one  walked  in  this  great  hospital,  through 
ward  after  ward,  the  reception  was  a  smiling,  bowing 
one,  beginning  at  the  doorways  where  the  nurses  and 
stewards  of  each  unit  were  lined  up  to  bow  and  salute, 
and  continuing  down  the  long  lines  of  floor-laid  mat- 
tresses or  close-set  wooden  beds.  No  man  ever  lay 
down  who  could  sit  up,  and  many  a  poor  fellow  with 
splintered  legs  or,  minus  them  entirely,  with  his  heal- 
ing stumps  thrust  under  wire  arches  which  supported 
the  bed-clothes,  pushed  himself  painfully  upwards  to 
a  semi-reclining  position  that  he  might  make  a  pitiful 
4  35 


THE    REAL    TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 

attempt  at  a  salutation  or  courtesy.  One  can  never 
forget  the  memory  of  these  mangled  sons  of  Japan, 
line  upon  line,  paying  tribute  with  a  bow  and  a  smile. 
It  was  a  sight  to  make  a  lump  rise  in  one's  throat  and 
the  tears  to  start  involuntarily  at  the  sense  of  real 
honour  conferred. 

In  the  surgical  wards  and  medical  wards  patients 
who  could  walk  were  allowed  almost  perfect  freedom; 
that  is,  they  might  roam  about  the  ward  or  wander 
through  the  grounds  at  will,  of  course  always  subject  to 
the  advice  and  orders  of  doctors  or  nurses.  This  free- 
dom doubtless  did  much  to  relieve  the  horrors  of  hospi- 
tal confinement  and  hasten  recovery  for  the  poor  fellow 
who  hobbled  feebly  along  the  charming  garden  paths 
or  bathed  in  the  filtered  sunlight  under  spreading  trees. 

That  the  best  judgment  was  not  always  exercised, 
was  evidenced  in  one  case  which  came  to  notice.  Sud- 
denly, from  the  brink  of  a  small  hill  on  a  sanded  path, 
our  little  visiting  party  caught  view  of  a  white-gowned 
soldier  ahead  who,  inch  by  inch  and  by  the  aid  of 
crutches,  propelled  himself  forward.  He  had  but  one 
leg  and  the  end  of  that  only  a  stump  that  was  wound 
in  many  white  bandages.  Pain  was  depicted  in  his 
face  and  beads  of  perspiration  poured  from  his  fore- 
head, but  deep  in  his  eyes  was  that  light  of  joy  which 
comes  to  men  only  in  rare  moments  of  life.  The  Sur- 
geon Major  pretended  not  to  see  the  glory  of  victory 
in  that  crippled  soldier's  face,  but  instantly  stopped  the 
man  and,  in  a  voice  of  kindly  authority,  asked  him 

36 


VISITS    TO    HOSPITALS 

why  he  was  in  the  grounds  against  orders.  The  reply 
came  with  as  much  of  a  genuflexion  as  was  possible  to 
a  man  leaning  heavily  on  crutches :  — 

"  Oh,  honourable  benefactor,  I  am  trying  my  leg.  I 
have  lain  on  the  futons  prostrate  for  over  six  months 
and  I  was  tired,  illustrious  sir  —  so  tired !  I  beg  par- 
don humbly  for  desiring  to  see  if  my  miserable  leg 
would  obey  my  behest.  You  see,  oh,  honourable  one, 
that  I  can  walk  nicely,"  and,  smiling  in  pride,  he 
straightened  his  back  manfully  to  the  limit  of  his 
crutches.  But,  nevertheless,  the  nurse  took  him  home 
pick-a-back  by  the  surgeon's  orders,  and  as  the  soldier 
regretfully  placed  his  arms  around  the  nurse's  neck 
I  saw  that  his  hands  were  totally  devoid  of  fingers.  I 
marvelled  at  the  happiness  through  pain  seen  on  that 
man's  face,  and  the  Surgeon  Major,  with  averted  head, 
coughed  to  clear  his  throat,  and  said,  extenuatingly : 
"  Oh,  they  are  such  foolish  children ! "  A  victim  of 
the  Mukden  battle-field;  shot  also  through  the  head; 
apparently  dead  for  many  hours;  and  the  thermometer 
below  zero,  —  that  was  the  rest  of  the  story. 

The  diet  of  the  hospitals  was  uniform  throughout 
and  may  as  well  be  discussed  here  as  elsewhere. 

The  food  was  divided  into  three  classes:  liquid, 
light,  and  ordinary.  Liquid  diet  consisted  of  hot  rice 
water  flavoured  with  a  little  soy,  the  flavoury  sauce  of 
Japan.  To  this  liquid  diet  stimulants  were  often 
added  in  the  shape  of  sake  (Japanese  rice  liquor)  or 
wines,  occasionally  including  champagne.  Also  asso- 

37 


THE    REAL    TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 

elated  with  the  rice  water,  always  a  favourite  drink, 
were  sterilized  milk  and  raw  eggs.  Beef  extracts,  meat 
broths,  malted  milks,  partially  predigested  prepara- 
tions, seldom  made  their  appearance  in  any  of  the  hos- 
pitals, though  the  hundreds  of  German-trained  Japa- 
nese physicians  were  perfectly  familiar  with  them  and 
on  rare  occasions  tried  them  on  special  cases. 

The  light  diet,  or  second-grade  food,  consisted  of 
rice  soup  and  a  portion  of  soft,  watery  rice,  with  cer- 
tain associated  foods  known  as  "tender"  foods. 
Cooked  eggs  was  the  only  one  the  writer  knows  by  an 
English  name;  the  others  were  various  vegetables 
known  in  Japanese  as  jankaka,  nipshime,  chawanushi 
and  temazodofu  (I  do  not  vouch  for  the  spelling). 
The  light  diet  was  modified  by  giving  different  amounts 
of  soft  rice,  from  one-third  to  the  full  ration  of  rice 
allowed  to  regular  diet  patients.  Regular  diet  was 
well-cooked  rice  with  associated  foods. 

Three  different  amounts  of  rice  were  issued,  depend- 
ing on  condition  of  patient.  The  associated  food  was 
fresh,  raw,  and  cooked  fish,  dried  fish,  dried  melon 
(kwan  pyo),  wild  grass  (zemmai),  pickled  radish  (dia 
kon).  I  could  not  find  that  beef  in  any  form  was  ever 
issued  to  patients,  though  in  the  lunches  for  officers 
I  saw  small  squares  of  beef  in  the  egg  dishes.  Chicken 
was  often  fed  to  injured  officers  and  sometimes  to  the 
men.  Hot  water  the  patient  could  always  have,  and 
usually  tea  of  the  weak  Japanese  variety,  if  he  pre- 
ferred. 

38 


VISITS    TO    HOSPITALS 

When  looking  at  the  astonishingly  low  mortality  in 
these  hospitals,  one  is  constrained  to  give  diet  a  large 
share  of  the  credit,  for,  as  hefore  said,  in  medical  and 
surgical  treatment  and  in  physical  comforts  and  ease- 
ments for  the  patients,  the  Japanese  doctors  and  sur- 
geons teach  us  nothing.  Toyama  hranch  had  15,759 
patients  for  the  three  months  of  April,  May,  and  June, 
1905,  —  the  month  of  April  included  the  immense 
number  of  wounded  from  Mukden  battle-fields,  —  and 
lost  only  forty-one  by  death,  or  a  quarter  of  one  per 
cent.  Those  death  percentages  seem  almost  incredible, 
but  I  obtained  them  from  original  records. 

The  hospitals  which  had  mainly  simple  cases  showed 
almost  as  low  percentages,  whilst  those  dealing  with 
serious  cases  naturally  showed  much  higher  rates. 

At  Toyama  three  features  were  highly  specialized: 
operations  on  badly  united  fractures  and  malformed 
jaw-bones  and  teeth ;  surgical  gymnastics,  and  massage. 
The  other  branches  had  also  some  surgical  gymnastics 
and  massage,  but  it  was  not  developed  to  the  same 
degree  of  excellence. 

Captain  Okaya  was  the  great  specialist  in  the  hos- 
pital on  the  subject  of  gunshot  wounds  of  the  jaw,  and 
as  the  field  is  practically  a  new  one  as  developed  by 
modern  surgery  he  had  to  invent  many  of  the  mechan- 
ical devices  for  the  accomplishment  of  results.  The 
precise  number  of  cases  of  this  nature  which  passed 
through  his  operating-room  were  not  divulged,  possibly 
for  the  reason  that  the  doctor  hoped  to  write  an  ex- 

39 


THE    REAL    TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 

haustive  brochure  on  the  subject  after  the  war.  But 
the  admission  was  made  that  cases  where  the  teeth 
and  jaw  were  involved  would  exceed  five  hundred. 

Of  the  many  cases  presented  for  examination  none 
was  more  interesting  than  that  of  one  man  who  had 
had  every  vestige  of  upper  jaw-bone  shot  away,  leav- 
ing the  entire  nasal  area  exposed  in  the  roof  of  his 
mouth.  After  considerable  experimenting  the  surgeons 
succeeded  in  supplying  him  with  an  upper  set  of  teeth 
by  backing  the  plate  with  two  large  rubber  projections 
which  reached  into  the  nasal  cavities.  With  the  plate 
in  place,  the  man  talked  quite  naturally;  with  it  out, 
he  made  extraordinarily  curious  sounds.  He  was  mas- 
ticating successfully  with  his  new  teeth  after  a  month's 
practice. 

All  fractures  of  the  lower  jaw-bone  which  have 
united  in  false  positions  so  that  the  teeth  do  not  super- 
impose are  either  refractured  —  the  patient  being 
under  an  anaesthetic  —  and  held  in  position  with  pre- 
viously prepared  wooden  splints  until  healed,  or  are 
forced  into  position  slowly  by  the  painful  process  of 
wedging  out.  The  capacity  of  the  Japanese  soldier  to 
stand  pain  was  constantly  evidenced  in  this  depart- 
ment. With  mouths  filled  with  wooden  splints  and  a 
surgeon  driving  in  a  wooden  wedge  a  fraction  of  an 
inch  at  a  time  to  force  a  bone  into  position,  only  ex- 
pressions of  pain,  or  moans  —  not  cries  —  were  drawn 
from  the  victims,  though  the  torture  of  the  ordeal  was 


40 


VISITS    TO    HOSPITALS 

evidenced  by  the  perspiration  which  poured  down  their 
faces. 

As  soon  as  a  man  was  entered  for  the  Dental  Sur- 
gery Department  wax  moulds  were  made  of  his  mouth 
and  plaster  casts  made  from  them.  From  this  exhibit 
the  character  of  the  operation  needed  was  determined. 
At  every  stage  of  the  work  new  casts  were  made  and 
photographs  of  the  patient's  mouth  taken,  so  that 
when  a  man  was  discharged  he  left  behind  a  complete 
pictorial  and  sculpture  history  to  accompany  the 
written  record.  If  bone,  teeth,  or  foreign  materials,  as 
bullets,  steel  fragments,  casings,  or  cloth  were  removed, 
they  also  were  carefully  preserved  as  marked  exhibits. 

Scientific  massage  was  employed  here  very  exten- 
sively, and  proved  of  the  utmost  importance  in  military 
surgery.  Atrophy  of  the  nerves  of  arms  and  legs  from 
gunshot  wounds  and  a  concomitant  wasting  of  these 
members  was  quite  common  in  this  war,  and  it  is 
claimed  for  massage  that,  when  the  injury  to  the  nerve 
had  not  been  too  extensive,  vigour  was  restored  to 
nerve  and  regeneration  of  the  muscle  took  place. 

To  amuse  and  interest  a  soldier,  to  keep  him  robust 
and  healthy  in  barrack  and  field,  or  if  sick  to  have 
him  speedily  convalescent  in  hospital,  are  looked  upon 
as  important  factors  by  line  officers  and  medical  officers 
alike.  The  Tokio  hospitals  had  amusement-halls  where 
the  convalescents  could  gather  and  indulge  in  games; 
there  were  reception-rooms  where  one  might  see  his 
friends  from  the  outside  whenever  they  called,  and  the 

41 


THE    REAL    TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 

parks  about  the  hospitals  could  be  freely  used  by  every- 
one who  could  walk,  and,  when  deemed  best,  the  de- 
bilitated were  carried  out  in  the  air  and  greenness  and 
sunshine. 

The  Toyama  Hospital  had  had  an  amusement-hall 
donated  it  by  Baron  Iwasaki,  the  head  of  the  Milsu- 
Bishi  close  family  corporation,  and  the  richest  man 
in  Japan.  It  is  a  beautiful  hall,  one  story  in  height, 
with  a  veranda  around  its  entire  four  sides.  The  floors 
are  Japanese  tatami,  or  matting,  so  the  men  enter  in 
stockinged  feet  and  sit  upon  the  floor  itself.  All  sorts 
of  Japanese  games  of  cards,  dice,  blocks,  buttons,  are 
played.  A  library  of  several  thousand  periodicals  and 
volumes  is  open  to  the  soldiers,  and  they  may  take  the 
books  to  quarters,  if  they  so  prefer.  Alongside  the 
hall  is  a  canteen,  where  cakes,  candies,  cigarettes,  and 
aerated  drinks  are  sold  at  what  seem  ridiculously  small 
prices  to  us.  Tea  is  served  free  upon  demand.  No 
supervision  is  kept  upon  the  canteen,  for  the  medical 
men  know  that  any  man  under  diet  orders  among  the 
hundreds  who  visit  the  amusement-hall  daily  can  be 
trusted  not  to  indulge  in  anything  forbidden.  It  may 
be  said  that  the  Japanese  cigarette  is  lacking  in  stimu- 
lating nicotine,  the  aerated  drinks  are  made  from  ster- 
ilized water  and  charged  with  gas  on  the  premises, 
and  the  cakes  and  candies  are  not  overstocked  with 
saccharine  matter. 

When  a  patient  dies  in  the  hospital,  he  is  removed 
to  the  morgue  immediately  and  the  body  properly  pre- 
42 


VISITS    TO    HOSPITALS 

pared  for  incineration.  Usually  connected  therewith  is 
a  small  shrine,  and  if  the  dead  soldier  was  a  Shintoist  or 
Buddhist,  he  is  given  the  burial  service  of  his  religion. 
If  he  was  a  Christian  —  and  there  are  a  few  such  —  he 
is  equally  entitled  to  Christian  burial  service.  Rela- 
tives and  those  interested  may  be  present  at  this  cere- 
mony if  they  desire,  provided  the  case  is  not  infectious 
or  contagious.  After  cremation,  however,  the  ashes 
belong  to  the  family  to  dispose  of  as  they  wish,  and  it 
is  then  usually  that  the  burial  services  and  ceremonies 
are  held  at  the  temple  and  shrines  with  which  the 
dead  man  was  associated. 

The  water-supply  of  all  the  hospitals  is  derived  from 
the  city  mains.  In  answer  to  questions  regarding  the 
purity  of  this  supply,  I  met  no  doctor  who  seemed  to 
know  exactly  what  conditions  obtained  on  the  supply 
watersheds,  but  they  assured  me  that  city  officials  con- 
stantly made  tests  and  microscopic  examinations  of 
the  water,  and  that  each  hospital  checked  against  these 
returns  by  making  its  own  investigations.  It  was 
claimed  that  no  disease-producing  organisms  had  so 
far  been  discovered  in  the  supply. 

Distilled  water  was  made  in  limited  quantities  in 
all  the  branches,  but  was  used  only  for  certain  cases 
and  for  compounding.  New  wells  were  to  be  found 
in  several  branch  hospital  grounds,  but  the  surgeons 
claimed  the  water  was  never  used  for  drinking  purposes 
but  only  for  sprinkling  the  grounds  and  washing  floors 
and  clothes. 

43 


THE    REAL    TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 

The  other  branch  hospitals  lost  in  interest  after  a 
visit  to  Toyama.  The  Shibuya  was  considered  the 
finest.  Coupled  with  it  in  the  expressions  of  praise 
was  another,  whose  patrons  were  most  distinguished 
noblemen.  Here  also  the  sick  and  injured  officers  were 
gathered,  living  in  the  really  handsome  wards  of  the 
permanent  Red  Cross  Society  Building. 

The  hospital  had  2,421  wooden  beds,  but  it  could 
accommodate  forty-three  hundred  patients,  when  nec- 
essary, though,  of  course,  nearly  two  thousand  were 
obliged  to  sleep  on  the  floor  when  it  was  filled  above 
normal.  The  published  capacity  of  this  hospital  was 
only  twenty-nine  hundred,  while  the  number  forty- 
three  hundred  was  insisted  upon  by  my  surgeon  cap- 
tain guide.  If  it  was  possible  to  expand  the  receiving- 
room  of  all  other  hospitals  in  Japan  so  much  above 
the  published  official  maximum,  then  indeed  it  must 
be  admitted  that  the  Japanese  had  prepared  for  num- 
bers unprecedented. 

The  specialism  which  came  prominently  to  the  fore 
in  this  institution  was  that  of  the  eye,  ear,  nose,  and 
throat,  for  Doctor  Hori,  the  chief,  was  an  eminent 
specialist  in  this  direction.  Over  sixty  of  the  most 
interesting  cases  of  this  nature  were  found  in  one 
group  at  the  time  of  my  visit,  and  as  the  troubles  were 
all  the  result  of  gunshot  wounds  they  presented  many 
curious  combinations  and  phases  of  injury  and  disease. 
Several  of  the  cases  were  brain  injuries  with  resultant 
paralyses  of  functions  of  the  eye,  ear,  and  throat. 

44 


VISITS    TO    HOSPITALS 

Speaking  of  brain  injuries  recalls  most  interesting 
cases  in  this  hospital  where  nervous  and  motor  dis- 
orders had  arisen  from  .wounds  of  the  head  and  spine, 
the  most  interesting  case  being  that  of  a  soldier  shot 
through  the  neck  who  had  sustained  complete  loss  of 
sensation  on  the  left  side  without  loss  of  motion,  while 
on  the  right  side  the  motor  nerves  were  paralyzed  and 
the  sensory  normal. 

Some  twenty  odd  Red  Cross  Society  doctors  worked 
in  this  hospital,  and  in  times  of  peace  are  in  sole  charge, 
but  on  a  war  footing  they  are  under  the  direction  and 
supervision  of  the  Regular  Army  Medical  Corps.  A 
number  of  the  medical  men  were  practising  physicians 
in  civil  life. 

The  Shibuya  Branch  Hospital  had  the  finest  amuse- 
ment-hall of  all.  It  is  in  a  two-storied  frame  structure, 
like  a  Moorish  temple  in  architecture.  This  was  also 
presented  to  the  Army  by  Baron  Iwasaki.  It  is  semi- 
foreign  in  furnishing,  having  benches  about  the  wall 
and  a  few  chairs  and  hard  floors.  A  billiard-table, 
library,  and  games  afford  the  fun.  Fifty  or  more 
Japanese  floral  exhibitions  were  to  be  found  on  the 
large  rostrum,  donations  from  gracious  individuals  who. 
renewed  them  as  occasion  demanded. 

This  same  public  benefactor  contributed  immense 
numbers  of  fans  to  the  hospitals  as  well  as  the  army 
in  the  field,  and  gave  quantities  of  cigarettes,  caps, 
mittens,  and  general  presents. 

Another  of  Japan's  great  commercial  houses,  Mitsui 
45 


THE  REAL  TRIUMPH  OF  JAPAN 

&  Co.,  also  did  much  to  relieve  distress  and  suffering 
among  the  invalided  soldiers.  At  Shibuya  a  thirty-five 
thousand  yen  operating-room,  now  in  process  of  erec- 
tion, is  a  gift  from  this  house. 

The  park  of  Shibuya  is  not  very  extensive,  but  some 
portions  of  the  gardens  are  very  beautiful,  and  there 
is  sufficient  shade  in  the  groves  for  all  those  who  care 
to  take  advantage  of  it. 

The  Hiroo  branch  is  smaller  than  the  Shibuya,  as 
its  normal  capacity  is  but  1,902,  an  extraordinary  ac- 
commodation for  2,324  patients.  About  the  middle  of 
July,  1905,  there  were  but  760  cases  in  its  twenty-three 
wards,  of  which  469  were  surgical. 

The  buildings  were  all  absolutely  new,  as  the  hospi- 
tal was  established  only  after  war  began.  The  wards 
were  exceedingly  clean,  and  the  entire  staff  had  a  busi- 
nesslike stir  about  them.  One  was  made  to  remove 
the  shoes  before  entering  the  building.  There  were 
no  infectious  or  contagious  diseases  here,  and  when  a 
case  developed,  it  was  sent  to  another  branch. 

Flower  exhibitions  appeared  in  every  ward  of  the 
hospital,  which  were  kept  fresh  by  the  donors.  Books 
and  papers  seemed  more  in  evidence  here  than  else- 
where among  the  patients. 

An  interesting  department  was  the  dental  room, 
where  Doctor  Shimmaya,  a  graduate  of  a  well-known 
American  Dental  Institute,  was  engaged  in  furnishing 
soldiers  with  new  teeth  and  plates.  Every  man  in  the 
Japanese  Army  who  loses  a  tooth  in  active  service  is 

46 


VISITS    TO    HOSPITALS 

entitled  to  have  it  replaced  at  the  expense  of  her  Maj- 
esty, the  Empress  of  Japan.  The  soldiers  are  said  to 
feel  very  highly  honoured  at  being  possessors  of  these 
gifts,  and  their  owners  are  the  envy  of  their  fellows. 
Her  Majesty  also  paid  the  bills  for  all  the  artificial 
legs,  arms,  and  eyes  supplied  the  Tokio  divisions,  and 
no  inconsiderable  number  of  poor  fellows  needed  her 
generosity.  The  wounded  Russians  received  a  percent- 
age of  this  bounty  of  teeth,  eyes,  and  legs. 

The  Sendagaya  Branch  Hospital  is  the  smallest  of 
all  and  in  some  ways  intensely  interesting.  It  was 
recently  opened  by  the  Voluntary  G-erman  Red  Cross 
Association,  Professor  Henley  and  Doctor  Aittig  being 
the  chief  technical  lights  assisted  by  a  few  foreign 
nurses.  All  the  necessary  medical  and  surgical  sup- 
plies were  sent  from  Germany.  In  May  the  hospital 
was  turned  over  to  the  Japanese  War  Department  and 
is  now  operated  as  a  full  military  branch  institution 
under  the  direction  of  army  surgeons.  Some  of  the 
German  surgeons  have  been  retained  and  are  in  charge 
of  one  of  the  two  sections  into  which  the  hospital  is 
divided.  The  Japanese  furnish  all  supplies  and  nec- 
essary nurses,  and  the  medical  personnel  is  a  mixed 
one  of  Japanese  Red  Cross  and  military  doctors. 

There  are  to-day  inside  the  beautiful,  but  rather 
restricted  grounds  some  twenty-two  wards  with  a  regu- 
lar capacity  for  1,555  patients,  and  extraordinary  space 
for  1,886.  On  the  occasion  of  my  visit,  however,  there 
were  but  226  cases  in  the  wards. 

47 


THE  REAL  TRIUMPH  OF  JAPAN 

The  buildings  are  mainly  new  ones,  built  after 
the  general  type.  There  is  one  German  Army  papier 
mache  transportable  hospital,  combined  with  an  operat- 
ing-room of  the  same  character.  It  has  been  demon- 
strated by  actual  use  of  this  building  that  it  is  not  to 
be  compared  in  comfort  or  advantages  to  the  Japanese 
building,  constructed  directly  from  light  pine.  It  is 
hot  and  smells  horribly  of  oil  and  paint  as  it  stands 
in  the  sunshine.  The  German  paper  house  can  be 
erected  more  quickly,  but  where  an  army  carries  with 
it  a  corps  of  civilian  carpenters,  as  the  Japanese  do, 
skilled  in  preparing  the  thin,  light,  wooden  shells,  the 
difference  in  expedition  offsets  the  delays  in  trans- 
portation. 

The  Japanese  reduced  the  high  temperature  of  the 
interior  of  this  paper  device  by  adding  a  second,  over- 
hanging roof  of  shingles  with  a  four-foot  air  space 
between  it  and  the  original  covering. 

A  large  proportion  of  the  cases  were  critical  sur- 
gical ones,  though  some  of  the  most  rebellious,  and 
novel  medical  ones  found  their  way  here.  One  ward 
under  German  supervision  exhibited  such  a  concen- 
trated mass  of  terrible  suffering  that  one  shudders  at 
the  memory.  In  spite  of  the  exquisite  agony  many  of 
the  men  must  have  felt  with  such  mangled  frames,  not 
a  groan  was  to  be  heard.  The  same  ward  in  a  white 
man's  country  would  have  been  filled  with  the  cries 
of  the  tortured.  One  is  constrained  to  believe  that  this 
lack  of  emotion  is  not  one  solely  due  to  trained  sup- 

48 


VISITS    TO    HOSPITALS 

pression.  It  is  certain  that  the  Japanese  does  not  suffer 
consciously  as  does  his  Occidental  brother.  On  the 
operating-table  he  will  look  at  you  and  your  clothes 
with  interest,  while  the  surgeon  performs  minor  oper- 
ations for  which  anaesthetics  would  be  used  at  home. 

The  German  surgeons  are  specialists  in  nerve  graft- 
ing, aneurisms,  bone  grafting,  skin  grafting,  and 
feature  making.  According  to  the  Japanese,  wonderful 
results  have  been  accomplished  in  this  work.  The  most 
frightful  cases  of  paralysis,  atrophies,  and  fractures, 
resulting  from  gunshot  wounds,  seemed  to  have  been 
gathered  here,  and  while  the  scientific  spirit  delighted, 
the  sympathetic  heart  was  wrung  by  the  sight  of  dread 
war's  human  wreckage. 

I  have  only  indirectly  alluded  to  the  process  of  dis- 
tribution of  the  sick  and  wounded  soldiers  among  the 
various  hospitals.  There  was  a  philanthropic  side  to 
this  work  which  must  not  be  overlooked,  in  which  Jap- 
anese noblemen  and  women  worked  incessantly  to  add 
as  much  as  possible  to  the  comfort  of  the  soldier 
heroes  who  suffered  and  bled  in  the  country's  cause. 

Not  only  did  delegations  of  sympathetic  friends  meet 
the  train-loads  of  soldiers  which  rumbled  into  the 
Shimbashi  station  daily,  but  a  Reception  Committee 
awaited  them  at  various  resting-places,  where  refresh- 
ments were  served  and  wounds  re-dressed  by  the  skilled 
Red  Cross  nurses,  and  where  small  presents  were  made 
to  every  man.  Short  speeches,  too,  were  usually  in- 
dulged in,  generally  made  by  that  distinguished  man 

49 


THE  REAL  TRIUMPH  OF  JAPAN 

Baron  Sengai,  the  Mayor  of  Tokio,  whose  family 
boasts  of  a  direct  lineage  older  than  the  Emperor's. 
The  Mayor  thanked  the  soldiers  for  what  they  had 
done  for  the  Emperor,  the  country,  the  city  and  their 
families,  and  dwelt  on  the  honour  of  serving  the  cause, 
finishing  with  expressions  of  sympathy  and  hope  for 
prompt  recovery. 

An  interesting  story  is  told  in  connection  with 
Marchioness  Nabeshima  and  her  voluntary  work  of 
mercy  as  a  Red  Cross  nurse.  It  is  stated  that  this 
talented  woman  was  always  present  at  one  of  the  rest 
stations  when  soldiers  arrived,  and  ministered  to  their 
wants  with  the  same  earnestness  as  the  ordinary  staff 
of  nurses.  There  was  nothing  to  distinguish  her  from 
the  others,  in  her  white,  nurse's  garb.  A  badly 
wounded,  but  haughty  soldier,  proud  of  his  Samurai 
blood,  was  being  attended  by  this  titled  gentlewoman 
and  having  his  wounds  re-dressed.  He  addressed  her 
again  and  again  in  the  terms  used  by  the  lordly  to  the 
lowly,  the  language  of  the  master  to  the  servant.  A 
brother  soldier,  recognizing  the  lady,  attempted  to 
make  him  understand  the  situation  by  indirect  utter- 
ances, but  the  pain-ridden  man  was  heedless,  until  his 
friend  blurted  out :  — 

"  Do  you  not  know  you  are  talking  to  the  noble  con- 
sort of  your  former  feudal  lord?" 

As  the  terrible  enormity  of  his  conduct  struck  home, 
the  man  grew  pale,  gasped  and  fainted  completely 
away.  In  the  old  Samurai  days  he  would  have  paid 

50 


VISITS    TO    HOSPITALS 

the  penalty  of  the  offence  by  committing  harikari,  but 
the  Marchioness  graciously  soothed  him  with  gentle 
words,  recalling  his  loyalty  and  patriotism  for  the  New 
Japan,  as  inspired  by  the  Emperor,  and  left  him  happy 
in  his  humility. 

This  is  the  spirit  of  chivalry  —  the  new  awakening 
of  patriotic  ardour  that  thrilled  and  inspired  the  chil- 
dren of  Nippon  to  the  deeds  of  heroism  and  bravery 
and  self-sacrifice  that  characterized  the  titanic  strug- 
gle. 


51 


CHAPTER   III. 

HOSPITALS    ON    THE    LINE    OF    COMMUNICATION 

IN  the  southern  suburb  of  the  thriving  city  of 
Osaka,  at  the  eastern  end  of  the  Inland  Sea,  and 
occupying  the  grounds  of  the  recent  International 
Exposition,  was  the  first  military  hospital  of  impor- 
tance en  route  to  the  front  from  Tokio.  Seventy-five 
connected,  one-storied  pavilions,  each  about  a  hundred 
feet  long,  arranged  in  parallel  lines  on  either  side  of 
a  central  aisle,  provided  room  for  twenty  thousand 
patients,  although  at  the  time  of  my  visit  only  three 
hundred  patients  were  being  cared  for  in  the  pleasantly 
decorated  wards.  Carbolized  wet  foot-mats  at  the  en- 
trances were  intended  to  prevent  the  introduction  of 
dust  and  germs.  The  buildings,  though  somewhat 
crude,  were  well-ventilated  and  in  excellent  sanitary 
condition.  The  dominant  note  was  one  of  cheerful- 
ness. 

A  series  of  ten  coloured  charts  and  diagrams,  dis- 
played on  the  walls,  showed  at  a  glance  the  records  of 
the  hospital  work  accomplished :  the  relative  frequency 
of  each  disease,  the  infectious  diseases  being  recorded 
separately;  the  percentages  of  deaths  from  wounds 

52 


HOSPITALS  ON  LINE  OF  COMMUNICATION 

and  other  causes;  the  records  of  admissions  and  dis- 
charges, etc.  Those  charts  were  arranged  in  circles, 
and  the  size  of  the  segments  allotted  to  each  item, 
together  with  their  different  colours,  permitted  an  in- 
stantaneous survey  of  every  phase  of  hospital  work  in 
both  its  actual  and  relative  significance.  The  authori- 
ties were  unwilling  to  part  with  a  copy  of  those  in- 
genious charts,  lest  their  publication  might  convey 
military  information  to  the  enemy,  who  at  that  time 
had  not  yet  received  the  staggering  blow  of  the  great 
naval  defeat.  The  following  statistics,  however,  were 
furnished. 

From  June  1st,  1904,  to  January  1st,  1905,  only 
seventy-six  deaths  occurred  from  the  following  causes: 
anaemia,  1;  pneumonia,  1;  bronchitis,  1;  intestinal 
catarrh,  1;  tumor,  1;  accidental  injuries,  2;  bullet 
wounds,  8 ;  shell  wounds,  5 ;  fracture,  1 ;  beri-beri,  55. 
They  were  distributed  over  the  various  months  as 
follows :  — 

685  patients,  no  deaths,  in  June 


510 

ti 

in  July 

3,770 

13 

in  August 

8,680 

56 

in  September  * 

2,300 

2 

in  October 

1,900 

4 

in  November 

1,085 

1 

in  December 

The  further  record  up  to  June,  1905,  was  as  fol- 
lows :  — 

1  This  was  in  the  month  following  the  battle  of  Liaoyang. 

53 


THE    REAL    TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 

780  patients,  2  deaths,  in  January 
1,880        "         2       "in  February 
3,900        "         5       "in  March 
870        "         5        "       in  April 
357        "         2       "       up  to  May  22d 

or  a  total  of  ninety-two  deaths  in  a  year  in  an  average 
number  of  2,250  patients  in  the  hospital,  or  about 
4.1  per  cent.,  calculated  upon  a  shifting  base,  with 
patients  left  over  from  month  to  month.  One  certainly 
left  the  hospital  with  increased  respect  because  of  the 
wonderfully  favourable  results  obtained  through  the 
methods  of  management  and  treatment. 

There  were  five  more  military  hospitals  at  Osaka, 
but  the  above  described  was  the  only  one  occupied  at 
the  time  of  my  visit.  At  Hamadera,  however,  ten 
miles  below  Osaka,  beautifully  situated  on  the  Inland 
Sea,  was  the  hospital  for  the  largest  camp  of  Russian 
prisoners  in  Japan,  and  which  naturally  aroused  espe- 
cial interest.  Of  the  sixty-six  thousand  Russian  pris- 
oners, at  that  time  in  Japan,  twenty-eight  thousand 
were  quartered  in  the  camp,  and  there  was  considerable 
sickness  among  them,  apart  from  wounds  received  in 
battle.  In  that  vast  stockade  several  hospital  buildings 
were  erected,  long  structures  connected  by  passageways, 
the  beds  placed  on  either  side,  similar  to  the  arrange- 
ment in  the  quarters  occupied  by  the  Japanese  sick 
and  wounded.  Nothing  was  lacking  for  their  comfort. 
They  were  treated  as  well  as  the  Japanese  sick,  and 
they  repeatedly  expressed  themselves  in  grateful  terms 

54 


PLAN  OF  MAIN   OSAKA  RESERVE   HOSPITAL. 


THE    REAL    TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 

for  the  treatment  accorded  them,  a  fact  of  which  the 
Japanese  officials  were  justly  proud.  There  were  650 
cases  in  the  hospital  on  the  day  of  my  visit,  most  of 
whom  were  suffering  from  bronchial  troubles. 

The  rest  of  the  Russian  prisoners  were  housed  in 
comfortable,  sanitary  barracks,  similar  to  those  used 
by  the  Japanese  troops  on  the  way  to  the  front.  The 
men  slept  on  platforms  running  down  the  entire 
length  of  the  barracks,  and  each  had  ample  covering 
and  room.  Their  food  was  wholesome;  I  ate  freely 
of  it;  and  the  men,  well  fed  and  housed,  plainly 
showed  that  they  were  quite  happy  in  the  knowledge 
that  war  henceforth  meant  no  greater  hardship  to  them 
than  temporary  deprivation  of  liberty.  Indeed,  so 
many  privileges  were  granted  them  that  they  could 
hardly  be  regarded  as  being  in  captivity.  To  further 
save  their  pride  the  Japanese  sentries  were  rarely  in 
sight  except  at  the  gates.  Not  more  than  ten  guards 
accompanied  a  body  of  nearly  two  thousand  men  who 
were  being  marched  down  to  the  shore  for  a  bath  in 
the  sea,  and  every  man  looked  well-nourished  and 
healthy. 

At  the  end  of  each  building  was  a  latrine  and  a 
supply  of  fresh,  flowing  water  where  every  man  could 
bathe.  A  plaza  in  the  centre  afforded  opportunity  for 
lectures  and  recreations.  $tany  were  playing  ball. 
Various  supplies,  such  as  stationery,  thread,  and  nee- 
dles, even  dainties,  could  be  procured,  and  religious 
services  were  held  at  a  Greek  church  facing  the  plaza. 

56 


HOSPITALS  ON  LINE  OF  COMMUNICATION 

In  one  of  the  compounds  of  the  prison  Japanese  in- 
structors were  actually  teaching  ignorant  Russian  peas- 
ant soldiers  how  to  read  their  own  language. 

Next  in  importance  along  the  line  is  the  great  group 
of  reserve  hospitals  in  Hiroshima.  They  are  beauti- 
fully situated  beside  a  shallow,  rippling  river,  lofty 
mountains  in  the  near  distance  encircling  the  city. 
Away  to  the  south  the  sacred  island  Miajima,  always 
an  inspiration  to  a  Japanese,  is  in  sight,  the  island 
where  no  one  is  permitted  to  be  born  or  to  die,  where 
the  deer  eat  out  of  one's  hand  and  where  the  famous 
Torii  is  built  far  out  into  the  water.  Here  stands  the 
old  temple  on  whose  pillars  thousands  of  soldiers  before 
starting  for  the  front,  and  hundreds  of  tourists,  have 
nailed  wooden  shovels  bearing  expressions  of  good  will 
to  Japan  and  wishes  for  her  success  in  war. 

The  grounds  surrounding  the  hospital  suggested  the 
highest  development  of  botanical  gardening,  where 
trees  and  shrubs  and  flowers  grow  in  profusion.  To 
these  beautiful  surroundings  the  sick  and  wounded 
were  brought  home  when  invalided.  Most  of  the  avail- 
able statistics  are  presented  in  another  chapter,  but 
for  purposes  of  comparison  it  may  here  be  stated  that 
there  were :  — 

4,398  patients,    16  deaths,  in  June,  1904 

4,802        "          32        "in  July,  1904 
12,812        "        186        "       in  August,  1904 
20,918        "        345        "       in  September,  1904  (the  highest 

record  in  the  hospital) 
15,894        "        295        "       in  October,  1904 

57 


THE    REAL   TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 

18,603  patients,  312  deaths,  in  November,  1904 


16,046 

218 

in  December,  1904 

7,493 

121 

in  January,  1906 

16,309 

94 

in  February,  1906 

16,340 

90 

in  March,  1906 

12,336 

107 

in  April,  1906 

5,927 

73        ' 

in  May,  1906 

This  is  a  total  of  1,889  deaths  out  of  an  average,  by 
months,  of  12,400  patients,  a  death-rate  of  about  1.5 
per  cent. 

At  this  hospital  the  army  surgeons  made  the  most 
extensive  use  of  the  X-ray  apparatus,  fully  a  thousand 
skiagraphs  having  been  made  and  more  than  six  thou- 
sand wounded  examined  by  means  of  it.  Here  also 
most  of  the  operations  for  traumatic  aneurisms  were 
performed  —  practically  a  new  field  for  army  surgeons. 
Appendicitis,  which  the  chief  surgeon  characterized  as 
an  "  American  disease,"  was  almost  unknown,  and  there 
had  been  but  one  operation  for  hernia.  This  contrasts 
strikingly  with  the  American  record,  especially  in  the 
tropics,  where  these  operations  were  very  frequent. 

At  the  Hiroshima  Hospital  they  introduced  a  system 
of  rendering  serviceable  old  materials  which  are  usually 
discarded  in  other  hospitals.  Old  bandages  and  cotton 
were  thoroughly  sterilized  by  boiling.  The  cotton  was 
then  put  through  machines  that  literally  shredded  it, 
after  which  it  was  ready  to  be  made  up  in  packages  for 
use  again.  By  this  means  much  money  was  saved. 

Crossing  the  sea  to  Manchuria,  still  further  on  the 
way  to  the  front,  one  came  to  the  three  great  hospitals 

58 


HOSPITALS  ON  LINE  OF  COMMUNICATION 

at  Dalney  —  a  main  one  and  two  branches  —  where  the 
sick  and  wounded  rested  before  being  taken  back  to 
Japan.  The  main  hospital  had  a  capacity  for  twenty- 
nine  hundred  patients;  one  of  the  branches  accommo- 
dated twenty-one  hundred,  and  the  other  one  thousand 
patients,  making  a  total  of  about  six  thousand.  That 
was  far  short  of  the  capacity  of  the  Hiroshima  Hospi- 
tal, which  cared  for  more  than  three  times  the  number. 
But  at  Dalney,  where  was  situated  the  last  base  hos- 
pital near  the  seat  of  war,  ships  were  always  lying 
in  the  harbour  ready  to  take  convalescent  patients  away. 

The  main  hospital  was  opened  on  June  24,  1904,  by 
a  Eed  Cross  detachment  while  the  cannons  were  roar- 
ing not  more  than  five  miles  away;  it  was  situated 
close  to  the  railway  and  formed  part  of  the  Eussian 
city,  which  was  looted  and  burned  by  the  predatory 
Chinese  as  the  Russians  fled  after  the  battle  of  ISTanshan 
Hill. 

The  main  hospital  consisted  of  sixty  buildings,  mostly 
former  dwellings,  occupying  both  sides  of  the  street. 
A  Greek  cathedral  at  the  extreme  west  was  utilized  as 
a  hospital  for  Japanese  officers.  The  Russians'  hos- 
pitals consisted  of  a  group  of  substantial  stone  build- 
ings far  to  the  south  of  the  railway  station.  These 
buildings  were  splendidly  situated  and  truly  repre- 
sentative of  the  solid  structures  which  the  Russians 
scattered  throughout  Manchuria,  and  which,  inciden- 
tally, were  monuments  of  the  insincerity  of  their  oft- 
repeated  pledges  to  evacuate  the  region  and  restore  it 

59 


THE    REAL    TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 

to  China.  The  other  branch  hospital  was  composed  of 
a  group  of  buildings  situated  to  the  east,  with  a  large 
administrative  building  in  the  centre. 

The  severe  fighting  at  Liaoyang,  Port  Arthur,  and 
Mukden  was  responsible  for  more  than  220,000  patients 
who  poured  into  the  Dalney  hospitals.  Of  these  only 
3,150  died,  indicating  a  death-rate  of  a  little  more  than 
1.4  per  cent. 

Under  Japanese  care  and  by  their  love  for  gar- 
dens, the  bare,  desolate  Dalney  Hospital  grounds  were 
promptly  transformed  into  a  park  of  flowers  and  trees, 
in  which  a  monument  to  those  that  died  at  the  hos- 
pital and  a  shrine,  where  daily  services  were  read  over 
the  dead  by  an  eminent  Buddhist  priest  from  Japan, 
were  not  forgotten.  The  dead  were  cremated  at  Nan- 
shan  Hill,  a  few  miles  away.  As  indicative  of  Japanese 
reverence  for  their  lost  soldiers,  the  crude  altar  of  the 
shrine  exhibited  an  admonition  to  treat  the  dead  with 
respect  and  to  pray  for  them. 

The  Russians  having  retreated  beyond  the  Sha-ho, 
the  great  hospital  at  Liaoyang,  in  the  north,  was 
opened  on  November  17,  1904;  up  to  the  latter  part 
of  June  that  hospital  had  cared  for  92,916  Japanese 
patients,  of  whom  51,745  were  wounded  and  41,171 
sick,  a  large  part  having  come  from  the  engagements 
about  Mukden.  Besides  those  there  were  more  than 
thirty-five  hundred  Eussian  sick  prisoners.  As  usual, 
the  Russians  had  built  the  railroad  station  a  consider- 
able distance  from  the  town  —  for  real  estate  specu- 

60 


HOSPITALS  ON  LINE  OF  COMMUNICATION 

lative  purposes  —  surrounding  it  with  permanent  stone 
structures  — 148  of  them,  which,  it  may  be  assumed, 
they  had  no  intention  of  presenting  to  the  Chinese. 
Each  structure  was  isolated,  but  the  Japanese,  with 
their  inborn  genius  for  adaptability,  selected  fifty  in 
parallel  lines,  cut  large  openings  in  the  adjoining  ends 
and  connected  them  by  wooden  corridors,  thus  creat- 
ing two  excellent  hospitals  with  long  rows  of  wards. 

As  the  Japanese  in  the  course  of  the  campaign  cap- 
tured large  supplies  from  the  Russians,  they  formed 
the  habit  of  giving  vent  to  the  serio-comic  expression 
"  Thanks,  Kuropatkin !  " ;  and  as  they  found  those 
148  buildings  at  Liaoyang,  and  adapted  them  to  hos- 
pital service,  they  again  had  occasion  to  exclaim, 
"  Thanks,  Kuropatkin !  " 

The  patients,  lying  on  mattresses  on  the  floor,  were 
protected  from  flies  and  mosquitoes  by  immense  nets 
suspended  from  the  ceiling  and  practically  covering  the 
entire  rooms.  A  large  amount  of  ice  was  found  stored 
in  Mukden,  which  proved  of  immense  value,  thanks 
to  Kuropatkin! 

The  hospitals  were  situated  almost  in  the  shadow  of 
one  of  the  most  beautiful  Brahmin  pagodas  in  China; 
it  was  octagonal  in  shape  and  stood  on  a  knoll  with 
numerous  trees  at  its  base,  where  birds  were  singing 
joyously.  Here  the  Chinese  would  seat  themselves  in 
groups  to  listen  to  the  gaily  plumed  songsters.  This 
pagoda  was  constructed  by  the  Koreans  and  is  said 
to  be  eighteen  hundred  years  old. 

61 


THE    REAL    TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 

The  military  hospital  at  Mukden,  visited  next  on 
the  journey  north,  was  one  formerly  used  by  the  Rus- 
sians and  to  which  they  had  sent  their  wounded  from 
the  battle-fields  to  the  south.  It  was  adjacent  to  the 
railroad  station,  which  is  three  miles  from  the  walled 
city,  and  was  a  fine  stone  structure  with  a  capacity  for 
about  six  thousand  patients.  After  the  great  battle 
of  Mukden  the  Japanese  had  to  crowd  it  with  seven 
thousand  wounded,  and  also  to  utilize  several  other 
buildings  for  similar  service.  Large  quantities  of 
medicines  and  instruments  were  captured  at  Mukden, 
most  all  of  which  were  of  excellent  quality.  Those 
Russian  hospitals  were  spacious  buildings,  accommodat- 
ing four  rows  of  cots.  In  commodious  rooms,  in  the 
central  section  of  each  of  the  buildings,  the  sick  or 
wounded  Japanese  officers  were  quartered. 

Further  to  the  north  was  the  hospital  at  Tie-ling, 
which  I  visited  early  in  June,  after  it  had  been  in 
operation  less  than  a  month.  It  consisted  of  several 
houses  in  adjoining  Chinese  compounds  and  was  com- 
plete in  its  appointments  in  spite  of  its  newness.  The 
medical  officers  justly  prided  themselves  on  their  water- 
testing  outfit,  their  fumigating  plant  and  their  portable 
ovens  for  the  disinfection  of  clothing.  There  had  been 
only  329  admissions  to  this  hospital  and  no  deaths. 
At  the  time  of  my  visit  it  contained  ninety-one  patients, 
thirteen  of  whom  had  beri-beri,  then  the  most  prevalent 
disease  in  the  army. 

Still  another  variety  of  hospital  visited  was  a  divi- 
62 


HOSPITALS  ON  LINE  OF  COMMUNICATION 

sion  hospital  on  the  battle-field  at  Papo-Tong,  about 
twenty-five  miles  northwest  of  Tie-ling  and  a  few  miles 
directly  behind  Oku's  front.  It  was  well  equipped, 
with  X-ray  apparatus,  microscope,  and  water-testing 
outfit,  and  the  surgeon-in-charge,  Major  Taniguchi, 
made  his  patients  all  the  more  comfortable  by  his 
deadly  warfare  on  flies.  It  consisted  of  several  Chi- 
nese mudhouses,  and,  as  in  all  Chinese  houses  used  for 
hospitals,  the  patients  slept  on  the  kongs,  or  brick 
beds,  occupying  each  side  of  the  main  room.  The 
houses  were  dreadfully  dirty,  of  course,  but  Japanese 
principles  and  methods  of  cleanliness  soon  held  sway 
and  rendered  them  fairly  habitable. 

That  field  hospital  was  provided  with  a  portable 
X-ray  machine,  as  was  the  case  with  the  division  hos- 
pital of  each  Japanese  army.  Although  the  apparatus 
had  been  packed,  preparatory  for  removal  further 
north,  Major  Taniguchi  had  it  unpacked  and  adjusted 
in  order  to  test  its  faultless  method  of  operation,  and 
the  experiments  were  successful  in  every  detail. 

In  the  field  X-ray  machines  had  only  a  limited  use, 
owing  to  the  Japanese  rule  not  to  perform  any  avoid- 
able operations  there.  It  might  have  been  thought  that 
the  mere  presence  of  such  an  apparatus  at  the  front 
would  be  a  temptation  to  perform  operations,  but  in 
view  of  the  high  standard  of  discipline  prevailing  in 
the  Japanese  Medical  Corps  no  temptation  was  strong 
enough  to  endanger  the  breaking  of  rules.  Occasion- 
ally, however,  it  proved  valuable,  and  the  fact  that  it 

63 


THE    REAL    TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 

was  included  as  a  regular  item  in  the  medical  outfit 
shows  to  what  length  the  army  surgeons  had  made 
preparations  for  the  war. 

There  were  about  fifty  patients  in  that  division  hos- 
pital, one  of  whom  had  smallpox.  Major  Taniguchi 
expressed  surprise  at  the  slight  number  of  smallpox 
cases,  for  the  valley  of  the  Liao  River  in  Manchuria  is 
a  veritable  culture-ground  for  this  disease,  hundreds 
of  cases  existing  among  the  Chinese  which  they  cun- 
ningly conceal. 

The  visit  to  all  those  hospitals  revealed  a  uniform 
condition  of  perfection,  humanly  speaking,  in  the 
theoretical  and  scientific  arrangement  of  all  the  de- 
tails and  their  practical  execution  in  regard  to  every- 
thing that  could  in  any  way  render  the  unfortunate 
lot  of  the  inmates  a  lighter  and  happier  one.  Every- 
where attempts  were  made  to  cheer  the  patients,  if  in 
no  other  way  than  by  the  display  of  a  few  miniature 
flags.  Convalescent  patients  would  busy  themselves 
with  making  ornaments,  queer  toys  out  of  old  bandages 
and  bits  of  cotton,  the  only  available  material  at.  hand. 
There  were  men  on  horseback,  birds  in  dwarfed  trees, 
weird-looking  animals  and  artificial  flowers.  One  of 
the  patients  who  took  delight  in  that  innocent  dis- 
traction was  a  young  soldier  who,  when  lying  on  the 
ground  at  Mukden,  with  his  hands  and  feet  frost- 
bitten, was  bayoneted  three  times  by  a  retreating  Rus- 
sian. Both  his  legs  and  the  greater  portion  of  his 
hands  had  been  amputated,  mere  stumps  remaining, 

64 


HOSPITALS  ON  LINE  OF  COMMUNICATION 

and  it  was  a  wonder  he  survived.  However,  he  was 
happily  looking  at  the  toys  and  said  he  was  glad  to 
have  served  his  Emperor.  Truly,  the  military  hos- 
pitals as  well  as  the  battle-fields  reveal  the  hell  of  war ! 


CHAPTER   IV. 

TO   AND   FROM   THE   FRONT 

UNBOUNDED  hospitality  characterized  the  treat- 
ment accorded  by  Japan  to  the  foreigners  who 
were  permitted  to  accompany  her  armies  to  the 
front.  Nor  was  that  hospitality  confined  exclusively 
to  the  military  attaches.  It  was  most  courteously  ex- 
tended to  the  writer  as  a  private  citizen,  whose  sole 
object  in  visiting  the  actual  scene  of  warfare  was  to 
observe  every  possible  phase  of  the  medical  system  in 
operation  in  the  field.  Similar  civilities  have  never, 
heretofore,  been  granted  to  an  unofficial  visitor,  but 
the  Minister  of  War,  without  any  solicitation  or  even 
expectation  on  my  part  of  so  extraordinary  a  favour, 
classed  me  as  an  attache  with  all  the  privileges  pertain- 
ing to  that  position. 

To  appreciate  adequately  that  courtesy  it  should  be 
borne  in  mind  that  the  attaches  were  the  guests  of  the 
Emperor;  for,  the  Japanese  Diet  having  failed  to 
appropriate  funds  for  the  maintenance  of  visitors,  he 
met  the  situation  by  personally  assuming  that  expense. 
Every  man  thus  honoured  was,  of  course,  additionally 
bound  to  observe  absolute  secrecy  with  regard  to  any 

66 


military  information  that  might  come,  by  accident  or 
otherwise,  into  his  possession.  The  hospitality  of  the 
Emperor  included  transportation  by  land  and  sea,  food 
and  shelter  and  a  mount  and  its  care,  with  free  use  of 
the  mails  to  and  from  Japan  —  subject,  of  course,  to 
the  censorship.  The  visitor  had  as  comfortable  quar- 
ters and  as  good  food  as  the  highest  generals,  and,  in 
the  exigencies  of  travel  and  observation,  he  was  pro- 
vided with  the  best  animal  available  when  the  horse 
was  essential,  or  he  travelled  on  the  best  steamships 
and  railroad-trains  at  hand  in  other  circumstances. 
All  that  was  required  in  return  for  these  courtesies  was 
that  he  should  subject  himself  to  military  rules,  and 
conform  to  the  ordinary  laws  of  civility  binding  upon 
a  guest. 

Mention  of  some  of  the  scenes  on  the  way  to  the 
front,  in  the  line  of  preparation  for  continued  war, 
will  enable  the  reader  to  realize  how  thoroughly  in 
keeping  with  all  other  provision  was  that  made  for  the 
medical  phase  of  the  conflict. 

Ordered  to  report  at  Ujina,  the  port  of  Hiroshima, 
to  sail  on  "  a  certain  date,"  on  "  a  certain  steamship  " 
to  "a  certain  place,"  I  found  myself  on  the  six-thou- 
sand-ton transport  Inaba  Maru,  Captain  Bainbridge 
commanding,  and  was  soon  steaming  through  the  beau- 
tiful Inland  Sea. 

From  the  moment  of  passing  the  Straits  of  Shi- 
monoseki  it  was  evident  that  some  unusual  event  was 
anticipated.  Captain  Bainbridge,  with  whom  I  passed 
6  67 


THE    REAL    TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 

much  of  the  time  on  the  bridge,  was  obviously  con- 
cerned over  the  signals  he  received  as  we  passed  into 
the  Japan  Sea.  Interest  was  heightened  shortly  after- 
ward by  the  appearance  of  four  Japanese  torpedo-boats, 
rushing  northward  at  full  speed.  In  but  a  few  hours 
we  neared  the  extreme  southern  end  of  Tsushima,  where 
the  signals  read :  "  Proceed  with  the  utmost  care ! " 

Soon  afterward  a  big  Japanese  cruiser  appeared  and 
escorted  us  out  of  the  zone  of  danger  —  for  at  that 
moment  Rojestvensky  and  the  Baltic  fleet  was  enter- 
ing the  Straits,  and  Admiral  Togo,  with  the  combined 
fleet  of  Japan,  was  on  his  way  from  the  north  to  meet 
him.  The  I  nab  a  had  been  the  last  transport  to  cross 
the  Straits  before  the  great  naval  battle  began.  A 
few  hours  later  the  policy  of  Eussian  aggression  in  the 
Orient  had  passed  into  history,  and  the  Russo-Japanese 
War  was  practically  a  memory.  It  was  a  terrible  dis- 
appointment not  to  linger  and  witness  the  epoch- 
making  spectacle. 

While  threading  our  way  the  next  day  past  the 
mines  that  literally  choked  the  entrance  of  the  har- 
bour at  Dalney,  our  pilot-boat  signaled :  "  Glad  you 
escaped  the  enemy !  " 

The  approach  to  Dalney  furnished  the  first  revela- 
tion of  the  vastness  of  the  preparations  made  by  the 
Japanese  for  continuing  the  war.  At  a  distance  of 
four  miles  the  hills  seemed  to  be  dotted  with  tents. 

"  Many  men  in  camp  there?"  I  asked  Captain  Bain- 
bridge. 

68 


TO    AND    FROM    THE    FRONT 

"  Those  are  not  tents,"  he  answered.  "  They're  sup- 
plies." 

Sure  enough,  on  approaching  closer  we  could  see  that 
what  I  had  thought  were  tents  were  enormous  pyra- 
mids of  military  stores,  covering  an  area  fully  a  mile 
square.  Later  examination  disclosed  the  fact  that  each 
pyramid  was  eighty  feet  long  by  sixty  feet  broad,  and 
that  they  were  nearly  fifty  feet  in  height.  Food, 
chiefly  bags  of  rice  and  barley,  ammunition,  hay,  wood 
and  other  supplies  were  piled  in  compact  form  and 
covered  with  canvas  battened  down  with  ropes.  Mak- 
ing street  after  street,  like  enormous  tents,  those 
pyramids  stood  in  vast  array.  The  sight  was  imposing. 
I  was  informed  authoritatively  that  sufficient  food  was 
under  cover  in  Dalney  to  provide  the  entire  army  of 
Nippon  more  than  a  year;  and  my  informant  added: 
"  These  are  only  a  part  of  the  stores  that  have  been 
sent  to  Manchuria,  as  a  great  deal  has  been  forwarded 
to  Mukden,  Liaoyang,  and  the  front." 

It  was  easy  to  believe  that  a  year's  supplies  for  all 
those  thousands  of  men  lay  under  that  sea  of  canvas; 
and,  after  that  spectacle,  one  was  not  to  be  surprised  at 
anything  in  the  way  of  preparation  Japan  had  made  to 
care  for  her  troops  in  case  of  disaster  to  Togo's  fleet. 

The  activity  on  shore  at  Dalney  was  tremendous.  The 
magnificent  stone  piers  —  which  the  Japanese  had  only 
saved  from  destruction  at  the  time  of  the  Russian  evac- 
uation by  surreptitiously  cutting  the  wires  connected 
with  the  mines  —  were  covered  with  railroad  tracks  on 

69 


THE    REAL    TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 

which  hundreds  of  cars  were  being  continually  shifted. 
Twenty  transports  and  four  hospital  ships  were  an- 
chored in  the  harbour,  held  under  orders  until  the 
result  of  the  great  sea-fight  should  be  made  known. 
More  than  five  thousand  Chinese  coolies  were  handling 
the  cargoes  from  the  shipping,  and  three  thousand  more 
were  engaged  in  the  town  under  military  supervision. 
Dirty  and  sinister-looking  were  these  coolies,  strong  of 
limb  and  long  of  wind,  and  their  forbidding  appearance 
made  one  feel  as  if  he  had  fallen  among  a  colossal  band 
of  brigands,  cutthroats  and  Hung-hutses.  Many  of 
them  were  living  in  the  old  Chinese  city  in  Dalney, 
though  several  thousand  had  been  compelled  to  make 
their  habitation  far  out  on  the  hills  to  the  south,  because 
their  uncleanliness  was  a  menace  to  public  health. 

A  Russian  drosky  —  captured  at  Port  Arthur  — 
awaited  us  at  the  pier;  and,  accompanied  by  a  young 
officer  of  the  Etappen  service,  we  were  driven  through 
the  old  Chinese  settlement  to  what  had  once  been  the 
splendid  Russian  city  of  Dalney.  Here  was  a  spectacle 
of  the  ruin  of  war!  Hundreds  of  handsome  brick 
dwellings,  that  in  an  American  city  would  have  cost 
from  $10,000  to  $50,000  each,  were  wrecks  of  fire  and 
pillage.  The  heavy  brick  walls  that  faced  the  well-paved 
streets  and  enclosed  spacious  gardens  were  alone  un- 
damaged. The  roofs  of  the  houses  had  fallen  in,  the 
windows  had  been  smashed  and  the  door-frames  stolen. 
The  interiors  had  been  stripped  of  everything  that 
possessed  the  slightest  value.  Only  the  massive  stoves, 

70 


TO    AND    FROM    THE    FRONT 

larger  than  most  furnaces  in  American  houses,  remained, 
and  that  only  because  they  could  not  have  heen  removed 
without  the  aid  of  derricks.  The  Chinese  coolies,  freed 
from  the  slightest  restraint  after  the  evacuation,  had 
turned  Hung-hutses  and  devastated  the  city  before  the 
arrival  of  the  Japanese  and  the  establishment  of  martial 
law  had  brought  order  out  of  chaos  and  transformed 
the  thieving  bands  into  disciplined  workmen. 

Millions  of  rubles  had  been  expended  by  the  Russians 
in  public  edifices,  theatres,  churches,  parks,  boulevards, 
barracks  and  palatial  private  residences  in  Dalney,  the 
terminus  of  the  great  Trans-Siberian  Railway,  des- 
tined, as  they  believed,  to  become  the  Paris  of  the 
Orient.  Still  better  proof  was  that  of  the  insincerity 
of  the  Russian  promise  voluntarily  to  evacuate  Man- 
churia. 

The  best  that  the  limited  equipment  of  the  railroad 
could  provide  for  us  was  a  third-class  carriage,  in 
which  the  journey  of  twenty-six  hours  to  Mukden  was 
taken,  the  average  of  speed  being  about  twelve  miles 
an  hour.  The  Russians  had  left  little  more  of  the 
railway  than  the  road-bed  and  the  rails.  The  loco- 
motives had  been  destroyed,  and  it  had  been  necessary 
to  bring  others  from  Japan.  The  track  gauge  had 
to  be  narrowed  to  conform  with  the  Japanese  railroads, 
thus  forming,  incidentally,  a  measure  of  defence  in 
the  event  of  an  attempted  invasion  of  the  territory, 
for  the  Russian  rolling  stock  could  not  then  be  made 
available  on  it. 

71 


THE    REAL    TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 

The  Eussians  had  also  destroyed,  or  wrecked,  every 
bridge  between  Dalney  and  Kai-yuen,  one  hundred 
miles  north  of  Mukden,  the  usual  method  having  been 
to  dynamite  one  or  two  spans  of  each  structure.  Some 
of  those  bridges  were  hundreds  of  feet  long,  for  Man- 
churia is  a  land  of  many  streams  and  of  violent  fresh- 
ets in  the  rainy  season,  and  it  was  necessary  to  build 
those  viaducts  high  and  strong.  Few  better  examples 
of  bridge  construction  are  to  be  found  than  existed 
along  the  road  from  Harbin  to  Port  Arthur.  The  re- 
construction of  those  bridges  was  a  gigantic  task,  but 
the  Japanese  attacked  it  with  characteristic  energy  and 
enthusiasm;  and  by  midsummer  after  the  Eussian 
retreat  the  wrecked  sections  were  replaced  with  iron- 
work brought  from  Japan. 

Everywhere  the  most  modern  engineering  systems 
were  in  operation,  an  instance  coming  under  my  obser- 
vation as  we  landed  at  Dalney.  There  a  shipment  of 
freight-cars  was  being  unloaded  from  a  transport. 
From  one  hatchway  a  crane  lifted  the  trucks  of  half 
a  dozen  cars  at  a  time,  the  wheels  fitting  the  tracks  on 
the  pier;  while  a  few  feet  beyond,  a  second  crane 
swung  out  from  another  hatchway  with  the  bodies  of 
the  cars.  The  trucks  were  run  under  these  bodies  as 
they  descended;  expert  mechanicians  rapidly  adjusted 
bolts  and  screws;  and  in  less  than  half  an  hour  after 
their  removal  in  sections  from  the  vessel's  hold  the 
cars  were  alongside  a  terminal  building  being  loaded 
with  material,  and  were  en  route  for  the  front  the 

72 


TO    AND    FROM    THE    FRONT 

same  day.  That  was  the  spirit  and  system  displayed 
in  the  work  of  railroad  reconstruction;  and,  at  the 
time  of  my  visit,  twelve  trains  daily  were  running  each 
way  between  Dalney  and  Mukden. 

Passing  northward  one  was  impressed  by  the  destruc- 
tion of  all  the  railroad  stations  and  adjoining  struc- 
tures. Like  the  other  Russian  buildings  in  Manchuria, 
those  stations  —  fine  edifices  of  granite  —  had  been 
built  for  permanent  use.  No  trans-Continental  line  in 
America  has  an  equipment  comparable  in  this  respect 
to  the  Trans-Siberian  Railroad,  and  one  could  not  re- 
press a  smile  as  he  thought  of  the  official  Russian 
promises  of  evacuation. 

But  sights  other  than  wrecked  bridges  and  buildings 
soon  occupied  our  attention.  On  all  sides  thousands 
upon  thousands  of  natives  were  peaceably  cultivating 
the  fertile  ground,  where  less  than  a  year  before  the 
opposing  armies  of  Russia  and  Japan  had  met  in 
mortal  combat.  Similar  conditions  existed  along  the 
road  to  within  a  few  miles  of  the  city  of  Mukden.  At 
each  of  the  battle-fields  were  visible  traces  of  trenches, 
with  the  sand-bag  shelters  and  earthworks  for  the 
protection  of  the  artillery  and  pitfalls  fast  disappear- 
ing under  the  growing  crops.  Nature  was  gently  ob- 
literating all  evidences  of  the  most  terrible  form  of 
human  violence  at  Teh-lissu,  Tai-schi-chao,  Hai-cheng, 
Liaoyang,  Sha-ho  and  the  others  of  those  sinister  spots. 
Near  the  railway  as  one  approaches  Liaoyang  is  Chu- 
san-po  Hill,  where  the  gallant  Thirty-Fourth  Infantry 

73 


THE    REAL    TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 

was  annihilated  to  a  man,  and,  a  few  miles  beyond, 
across  the  Sha  River,  could  be  seen  Putiloff  Hill,  the 
scene  of  equal  gallantry,  where  both  armies  displayed 
a  courage  unsurpassed  by  the  heroes  of  Port  Arthur. 

At  almost  every  station  were  vast  stores  of  supplies 
similar  to  those  at  Dalney,  and  everywhere  they  were 
gradually  being  pushed  to  the  north,  slowly  and  sys- 
tematically. 

Not  until  crossing  the  Sha  River  did  I  realize  what 
this  movement  meant.  Lumbering  Chinese  carts,  with 
stocky  little  horses  between  the  shafts  and  four  or 
five  donkeys  or  mules  harnessed  in  front  (the  only 
practical  method  of  conveying  freight  in  that  country 
of  alluvial  soil  and  heavy  rains),  began  to  appear  by 
the  hundreds.  They  moved  in  long  trains,  each  cart 
heavily  loaded  with  army  supplies.  Soon  the  num- 
bers multiplied  into  thousands,  going  north  to  Mukden, 
and  equal  numbers  returning  to  the  Sha  for  more 
supplies.  Those  carts  indicated  that  the  railroad  had 
reached  the  limit  of  its  transportation  facilities,  and 
that  the  prompt  forwarding  of  supplies  necessitated 
the  use  of  that  primitive  method  of  conveyance.  War 
proved  a  blessing  to  the  local  peasantry,  who  were 
making  five  times  more  money  carrying  stores  than 
by  their  normal  occupation. 

Nor  were  the  military  authorities  content  to  depend 
alone  upon  the  railroad  and  carts  in  pushing  forward 
the  army  supplies.  They  demonstrated  great  ingenuity 
in  devising  another  method  of  transportation.  The 

74 


TO    AND    FROM    THE    FRONT 

country  about  Mukden  is  flat.  Upon  the  ground  the 
Japanese  had  laid  a  portable  railway.  Hundreds  of 
hand-cars  on  that  miniature  road  were  loaded  with 
army  stores,  and  propelled  by  soldiers  in  squads  of  half 
a  dozen.  The  prevailing  winds  at  the  season  of  my 
visit  were  from  the  south,  and  the  Japanese  utilized 
them.  They  raised  large  canvas  sails  on  the  cars, 
and  let  the  wind  blow  the  craft  and  its  cargo  along. 
There  was  a  veritable  fleet  of  prairie  schooners,  the 
like  of  which  was  never  seen  before !  I  rubbed  my  eyes 
to  make  certain  they  were  realities  and  not  phantom 
ships  gliding  by  the  hundreds  over  the  land.  Let  no 
one  hereafter  classify  the  prairie  schooner  with  the 
horse-marine!  The  prairie  schooner  is  an  actuality, 
and  the  Japanese  have  shown  the  world  how  to  utilize 
it  in  time  of  war. 

At  Mukden  I  was  driven  to  a  yamen  in  the  heart 
of  the  city,  where  were  displayed  two  large  Japanese 
flags  and  where  two  sentries  stood  on  guard.  That 
was  the  Manchurian  Headquarters  of  the  Imperial 
Japanese  Army,  and  it  furnished  another  example  of 
the  unostentatious  method  of  the  Japanese  in  making 
war.  There  was  the  headquarters  of  one  of  the  great- 
est armies  of  the  world,  and  not  a  dozen  soldiers  were 
in  sight.  There  were  no  horsemen  galloping  madly 
about,  no  gaudily  uniformed  subalterns  darting  to  and 
fro,  no  rushing  orderlies;  simply  two  sentries  on 
guard  and  three  or  four  others  within  the  compound. 
And  yet  inside  the  yamen  were  Marshal  Oyama  with 

75 


THE  REAL  TRIUMPH  OF  JAPAN 

his  two  brilliant  assistants,  Generals  Kodama  and 
Fukushima,  and  other  officers  of  high  rank,  engaged 
in  directing  the  movements  of  the  five  great  armies 
in  the  field,  comprising  a  total  of  nearly  six  hundred 
thousand  men. 

Captain  S.  Tanaka,  General  Fukushima's  aide-de- 
camp, extended  a  most  hospitable  welcome,  escorting 
me  to  a  neighbouring  yamen  that  had  formerly  been 
occupied  by  the  Russian  staff  under  Kuropatkin  — 
and  which  the  Japanese  officer  playfully  termed  the 
"Hotel  Yamenski." 

Not  to  have  seen  Tanaka  would  have  been  to  miss 
one  of  the  pleasures  of  visiting  the  front.  I  had 
known  him  a  year  before  in  Tokio,  when  he  commanded 
the  Ah  Cheng  Cadets,  as  the  army  of  war  correspond- 
ents encamped  at  the  Imperial  Hotel  were  play- 
fully designated,  and  later,  with  General  Fukushima,  to 
their  surprise,  in  Newchwang,  having  reached  that  city 
before  their  arrival,  and  as  the  Russians  were  evacu- 
ating it.  Tanaka  spoke  English  perfectly,  although 
before  he  went  to  Manchuria  he  had  never  been  out- 
side of  Japan.  He  is  the  officer  to  whom  was  entrusted 
the  difficult  diplomatic  duty  of  acting  as  go-between, 
when  ninety  war  correspondents  at  the  outbreak  of 
hostilities  were  clamouring  at  the  War  Department  in 
Tokio  for  permission  to  go  to  the  front,  and  of  per- 
suading them  to  accept  his  reiterated  promise  that 
they  should  start  "  in  a  few  days,"  days  that  lengthened 
into  weeks  and  months,  and  almost  drove  some  of 

76 


TO    AND    FROM    THE    FRONT 

them  to  desperate  measures.  The  young  captain  ia 
one  of  the  most  subtle  and  clever  officers  in  the  Japa- 
nese army,  though  many  of  the  foreign  correspondents 
regard  him  as  the  specimen  arch-deceiver  of  his  coun- 
try. Tanaka  appeals  at  once,  however,  to  the  Amer- 
ican idea  of  good-fellowship.  He  is  an  admirer  of 
Mark  Twain,  and  more  familiar  with  the  works  of  that 
humourist  than  most  Americans.  Thackeray  and  Haw- 
thorne are  also  among  his  favourite  authors,  and  he 
is  an  eager  student  of  history.  Another  of  his  claims 
to  recognition  by  a  N"ew  Yorker  in  a  distant  land  is 
that  he  is  a  master  of  American  slang,  and  can  say 
"  How ! "  when  he  raises  his  glass,  with  as  much 
facility  as  any  American  frontiersman.  Tanaka  paid 
a  high  tribute  to  Kuropatkin  as  a  soldier,  but  rolled  in 
his  chair  with  pure  delight  as  he  recalled  what  he  de- 
clared the  Russian  general's  most  frequent  bulletin  to 
St.  Petersburg:  "We  are  advancing  to  the  north  in 
perfect  order,"  and  tears  actually  started  in  his  eyes 
as  he  gleefully  repeated  the  phrase  over  and  over  again. 
He  pointed  to  the  great  Russian  boots  that  fairly  en- 
gulfed his  stubby  legs,  and  assured  me  that  thousands 
upon  thousands  of  Japanese  soldiers  were  wearing 
others  like  them,  "thanks  to  Kuropatkin/'  It  was 
due  to  the  same  involuntary  benefactor,  by  the  way> 
that  Tanaka  was  enabled  many  times  in  an  evening, 
with  bumpers  of  vodka,  to  remind  his  guests  to  "  drink 
square,"  and  the  humour  of  the  situation  was  irrer 
sistible  when  he  told  of  the  capture  of  a  car-load  of 

77 


music-boxes,  the  repertoires  of  which  consisted  solely 
of  Kugsian  triumphal  songs. 

Another  phase  of  Tanaka's  character  was  revealed 
when,  at  dinner,  he  informed  us  of  the  destruction  of 
his  regiment  at  Chu-san-po,  below  Liaoyang,  not  a 
man  in  the  action  escaping.  He,  the  only  officer  de- 
tached from  his  regiment,  and  a  few  privates  who 
were  doing  stretcher  duty  at  the  time,  were  the  sole 
survivors  from  nearly  three  thousand  men.  Eeferring 
modestly  to  the  bravery  of  his  fellows  and  his  regret 
that  he  had  not  been  with  them,  he  added :  — 

"I  am  the  only  officer  left,  and  it  was  my  duty  to 
have  died  with  them.  We  drink  to  my  comrades,  who 
died  for  the  Emperor." 

As,  in  silence,  we  toasted  the  memory  of  those  gal- 
lant men  more  than  a  suspicion  of  moisture  was  in 
Tanaka's  eyes,  and  his  throat  swelled  as  he  reverently 
bowed  his  head. 

An  incident  is  recalled  relating  to  another  officer, 
whose  regiment  was  annihilated  during  the  fighting 
before  Mukden.  That  officer  was  assigned  to  escort 
the  foreign  attaches  over  the  field  and  to  explain  cer- 
tain features  of  the  battle.  He  repeatedly  apologized 
to  us  for  being  alive,  seeming  to  regard  his  continued 
existence  as  a  reflection  on  his  valour.  When,  a  few 
days  afterward,  he  received  orders  to  go  to  the  front 
upon  a  dangerous  mission,  his  sole  comment  was :  "  I 
am  happy,  for  now  I,  too,  can  die." 

That  was  the  spirit  which  pervaded  the  Army  of 
78 


TO    AND   FROM    THE    FRONT 

Nippon,  proving  that  the  rules  of  conduct  drawn  up 
by  his  Imperial  Majesty,  and  known  as  "  the  virtues  of 
the  Emperor,"  held  the  inspiration  ascribed  to  them 
by  the  various  generals  and  admirals  in  their  reports 
of  victories.  Those  seven  virtues  or  rules,  which  were 
issued  as  a  general  order  and  could  be  repeated  by 
every  soldier  or  sailor  in  the  service,  were  as  follows :  — 

1.  Be  sincere  and  loyal  —  shun  untruthf ulness. 

2.  Respect  superiors  and  be  true  to  comrades  —  shun  lawless- 
ness and  insolence. 

3.  Obey  the  command  of  superiors  irrespective  of  its  purport  — 
never  resist  or  disregard  it. 

4.  Value  courage  and  be  diligent  in  the  performance  of  duty  — 
shun  cowardice. 

5.  Be  not  boastful  of  brute  force ;  neither  quarrel  with  nor  in- 
sult others,  thereby  engendering  hatred. 

6.  Cultivate  virtue  and  practise  frugality  —  shun  extravagance 
and  effeminacy. 

7.  Cherish  honour  and  reputation  —  shun  greed  and  vulgarity. 

Tanaka  was  not  the  only  one  at  Manchurian  Head- 
quarters with  a  sense  of  the  ridiculous.  He  told  us 
that  Marshal  Oyama  had  roared  with  laughter  when 
informed  of  the  discussion  in  the  United  States,  started 
by  some  after-dinner  wag  at  the  last  St.  Patrick's  Day 
celebration,  as  to  whether  or  not  Oyama  and  Oku  were 
of  Irish  descent  and  entitled  to  spell  their  names  with 
the  apostrophe.  The  Marshal  thought  that  the  Ohara 
family,  which  is  numerous  in  Japan,  ought  to  be  ac- 
corded the  same  privilege  as  himself  and  Oku. 

Before  calling  on  Marshal  Oyama  I  visited  General 
79 


THE  REAL  TRIUMPH  OF  JAPAN 

Fukushima,  whom  I  had  known  in  Peking  during  the 
Boxer  campaign  in  China.  He  was  the  hero  of  a 
famous  ride  from  Berlin  across  Siberia  to  Vladivostok, 
for  a  wager,  an  explorer  of  reputation  and  an  accom- 
plished linguist.  Most  cordial  was  his  greeting;  but, 
when  discussing  the  possibility  of  further  hostilities 
in  the  near  future,  he  said,  with  a  twinkle  in  his  eye: 
"  These  are  military  secrets,"  adding :  "  The  time  of 
the  next  battle  rests  with  General  Linevitch.  If  you 
can  get  a  message  to  him  that  will  induce  him  to  wait 
our  arrival  you  can  fix  the  date." 

A  mere  glance  at  Marshal  Oyama  gives  the  impres- 
sion that  he  is  an  unusual  man.  A  few  minutes'  con- 
versation brings  the  conviction  that  he  is  a  great  man. 
He  is  heavy  in  body,  slow  in  movement,  deliberate  in 
speech.  His  face  is  oval  and  the  head  almost  round. 
His  eyes  are  small  and  deep-set,  with  an  expression  of 
extraordinary  keenness  and  power.  His  dress  was  plain 
khaki,  with  nickel  buttons,  and  a  single  decoration  on 
his  coat  below  the  chest.  There  was  no  lace  or  braid 
or  brass  about  him,  three  white,  silk-embroidered  stars 
at  the  cuffs  being  his  only  insignia  of  rank.  At  his 
sleeve  one  could  see  the  cuffs  of  his  gray  flannel  shirt. 
He  was  as  merry  as  a  boy,  absolutely  without  pomp  and 
as  unassuming  as  a  private  in  the  army.  I  was  pre- 
sented to  him  in  the  council-chamber  of  the  general 
headquarters  of  the  staff.  He  bowed  low,  shaking 
hands  most  cordially.  Although  slow  of  speech,  it  was 
evident  that  his  mind  was  wonderfully  quick,  for  he 

80 


TO    AND    FROM    THE    FRONT 

invariably  grasped  the  meaning  of  Tanaka's  transla- 
tions of  conversations  long  before  the  sentences  were 
concluded. 

The  Marshal  expressed  his  gratification  always  at 
meeting  Americans  since  it  gave  him  the  opportunity 
to  acknowledge  Japan's  appreciation  of  America's 
friendship.  Japan,  he  said,  had  no  truer  friend  than 
America  and  was  indebted  to  her,  not  only  for  open- 
ing her  ports  to  the  world,  but  for  countless  other  bene- 
fits that  had  resulted  in  national  progress.  He  seemed 
much  interested  in  my  meeting  with  the  Marchioness 
Oyama  in  a  hospital  at  Tokio,  an  incident  previously 
related,  and  he  spoke  of  my  efforts  to  get  to  the  front 
the  previous  summer,  when  the  Japanese  took  pos- 
session of  Newchwang.  I  suggested  jocosely  that  Cap- 
tain Tanaka  had  probably  blocked  my  efforts,  and  the 
Marshal  chuckled,  as  he  declared :  "  Oh,  Tanaka  is  a 
very  bad  man." 

On  remarking  that  it  was  hoped  in  America  that  he 
and  Marchioness  Oyama  would  visit  us  again  when  the 
war  was  over,  assuring  him  of  the  heartiest  of  wel- 
comes, he  smiled  and  observed  that  he  was  an  old 
man  with  but  one  more  long  journey  to  make. 

"To  St.  Petersburg?"    I  inquired. 

He  laughed,  and  referred  to  a  longer  journey,  for 
which  he  would  be  prepared  by  a  physician  and  such 
consolation  as  religion  might  afford. 

He  had  much  to  say  about  the  health  of  the  army, 
and  gave  full  credit  to  the  sanitary  department  for 

81 


THE  REAL  TRIUMPH  OF  JAPAN 

its  prevention  of  epidemic  diseases.  He  also  spoke  of 
the  status  of  the  Medical  Department,  observing  that 
the  orders  of  a  medical  officer  were,  as  a  matter  of 
course,  always  implicitly  obeyed  when  not  interfering 
with  strategic  movements. 

I  had  presented  him  with  a  copy  of  an  American 
newspaper  containing  a  detailed  account  of  the  battle 
of  Mukden;  and,  while  Captain  Tanaka  was  trans- 
lating his  remarks,  the  Marshal  kept  running  his  eye 
over  the  map  and  tracing  the  various  positions  of  his 
troops.  Later  he  had  Tanaka  translate  the  entire 
article,  and  sent  me  his  thanks  with  the  message  that 
the  report  was  accurate  and  fair  in  its  conclusions. 
I  was  also  presented  with  a  Eussian  rifle  and  bugle, 
captured  at  Mukden,  both  of  which  mementoes  are 
highly  prized. 

On  leaving  the  council-chamber,  one  of  the  strangest 
sights  ever  witnessed  at  the  headquarters  of  an  army 
presented  itself.  Directly  in  front  of  Marshal  Oyama's 
personal  office  was  a  croquet-ground,  and  there  at  play, 
like  happy  children,  were  Generals  Kodama  and 
Fukushima,  and  two  other  members  of  the  general 
staff,  Generals  Matsukawa  and  Ochi.  Kodama  and 
Matsukawa  were  matched  against  Fukushima  and 
Ochi,  and  the  combat  was  vigorous.  They  had  named 
one  of  the  posts  Harbin  and  the  other  Kirin,  and 
fought  for  positions  as  eagerly  as  though  on  a  battle- 
field. Every  true  shot  at  long  range  was  greeted  with 
shouts  of  applause,  while  if  a  general  went  wide  of 

82 


TO    AND    FROM    THE    FRONT 

his  mark  the  others  called  him  a  Russian.  When  a 
ball  rolled  too  far  its  owner  would  dance  before  it, 
making  crosses  on  the  ground  with  his  mallet  and  be- 
seeching it  to  stop,  while  the  others  screamed  with 
laughter.  I  left  the  hilarious  quartette  with  Kodama 
at  Kirin,  but  Fukushima  far  from  Harbin. 

There  was  something  more  significant  than  a  mere 
exhibition  of  innocent  fun  in  the  spectacle  of  those 
four  grim  masters  of  war  playing  a  schoolgirl's  game. 
No  onlooker  at  their  frolic  would  have  imagined 
that  a  great  war  was  in  progress,  and  that  with  them 
rested  the  fate  of  the  nation.  So  completely  had  they 
mastered  the  coming  moves  on  the  chess-board  of  in- 
ternational strife  that  they  were  safe  in  stopping  to 
indulge  in  that  gentlest  of  amusements.  Oyama  was 
then  ready  to  strike  his  next  great  blow,  and  only 
awaited  the  order  to  unleash  the  dogs  of  war. 

The  Japanese  military  men  were  not  the  only  inter- 
esting foreigners  in  Mukden.  Dr.  Dugald  Chrystie, 
the  missionary  physician,  and  the  Rev.  Dr.  John  Ross, 
also  a  missionary,  who,  with  their  families,  had  passed 
through  the  siege  and  battle,  were  there.  In  their  long 
residence  in  Mukden  they  had  seen  several  wars  and 
uprisings;  and,  during  the  Boxer  outbreak,  had  been 
compelled  to  flee  for  their  lives.  Doctor  Chrystie,  the 
representative  of  the  International  Red  Cross  Society 
and  of  the  Shanghai  Refuge  Society,  was  doing  a 
splendid  work  in  addition  to  his  medical  service.  He 
had  cared  for  over  ten  thousand  of  the  forty  thousand 
7  83 


refugees,  who,  homeless  and  starving  as  the  result  of 
Eussian  cruelty,  had  swarmed  into  Mukden  after  the 
battle.  Doctor  Eoss  believed  the  Eussian  Government 
had  sent  money  to  pay  for  all  Chinese  supplies  seized 
and  property  destroyed  in  Manchuria,  but  he  added 
the  money  was  "lost"  on  the  way  and  never  reached 
its  destination.  Doctor  Chrystie  maintains  a  hospital 
in  Mukden  and  is  accomplishing  a  great  humanitarian 
work.  His  surgical  success  was  little  short  of  mar- 
vellous, considering  the  difficulties  with  which  he  had 
to  contend.  He  treated  both  Japanese  and  Eussians 
in  his  hospital.  It  was  a  great  relief  to  the  missionaries 
when  the  Japanese  occupied  Mukden,  for,  as  Doctor 
Chrystie  said,  "  They  at  once  inaugurated  sanitary 
measures  and  began  to  clean  the  town." 

Both  Doctor  Chrystie  and  Doctor  Eoss  had  enter- 
tained many  Eussian  officers  during  the  Manchurian 
campaign,  and  both  declared  that  the  officers  freely 
stated  they  had  no  heart  in  the  war.  Some  of  the 
Eussians  were  fine  types  of  men,  the  missionaries  said, 
but  the  majority  would  have  brought  disgrace  upon  the 
arms  of  any  nation.  Those  were  the  ones  who,  with 
their  harlots  and  drunken  soldiers,  constituted  the 
noisy  mob  that  crowded  the  streets  of  Mukden  the  day 
before  the  disastrous  defeat,  the  same  officers  who 
thronged  the  drinking-places  in  Liaoyang  during  the 
battle  there,  while  their  men  were  fighting  and  dying 
in  the  fray. 

Doctor  Eoss,  who  has  written  much  on  Manchurian 
84 


TO    AND    FROM    THE    FRONT 

history,  did  not  hesitate  to  ascribe  the  Russo-Japanese 
war  to  the  alliance  between  Russia  and  France.  That 
alliance  gave  Russia  the  opportunity  to  steal  Manchuria. 
That  Russia  had  no  intention  of  leaving  the  territory 
voluntarily  was  patent  to  all  residents  of  whatever 
nationality.  A  Russian  officer  once  said  to  him  that 
truth-telling  was  an  indiscretion  of  the  English-speak- 
ing peoples  that  his  countrymen  did  not  propose  to 
imitate. 

There  was  much  of  interest  to  be  seen  in  Mukden, 
for  the  siege  had  done  little  damage  inside  of  the 
city  walls.  Indeed,  less  than  a  dozen  persons  were 
killed  in  the  city;  nearly  all  of  those  were  Chinese, 
satisfying  their  curiosity  in  ascertaining  the  contents 
of  unexploded  shells.  Many  amputations  and  other 
interesting  operations  resulted  as  a  consequence. 

The  great  Imperial  Palace  in  the  centre  of  Mukden, 
which  has  not  been  occupied  since  the  seat  of  the 
Manchu  dynasty  was  moved  to  Peking,  is  the  most  im- 
portant of  the  ancient  buildings.  Rich  were  the  jewels 
and  embroideries  contained  in  a  storehouse  among 
these  crumbling  edifices,  still  brilliant  in  their  colour- 
ing and  imposing  in  their  architecture.  The  Russians 
took  advantage  of  the  Boxer  uprising  to  loot  much 
treasure  and  jade  from  Mukden.  The  Japanese,  how- 
ever, on  occupying  the  city,  had  protected  what  re- 
mained. The  strictest  conventionalities  of  international 
courtesy  were  observed  by  them  and  no  visitor  was 
allowed  to  enter  the  palace  without  a  pass  from  the 

85 


THE    REAL    TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 

Chinese  authorities.  Some  of  the  pearls  in  the  palace 
collection  were  remarkably  fine,  as  were  the  richly 
embroidered  costumes,  centuries  old,  of  famous  em- 
perors of  the  past.  Although  the  remaining  treasures 
and  jades  of  Mukden  palace  were  kept  in  old  wooden 
chests  stowed  away  with  apparently  no  regard  for 
classification,  the  mandarins  in  charge  knew  precisely 
where  each  article  belonged  and  guarded  the  collection 
with  zealous  care.  The  intrinsic  value  of  the  jade 
ornaments,  jewels  and  embroideries  was  great  —  no 
amount  of  money  could  purchase  them. 

Another  wonderful  attraction  is  the  ancient  Imperial 
Library,  adjoining  the  palace.  It  is  in  a  dilapidated  con- 
dition and  was  one  of  the  three  great  libraries  of  antiq- 
uity left  in  China;  one  of  the  others,  the  Hinan  in 
Peking,  having  been  burned  by  the  Boxers  in  1900. 
There  were  in  this  library  forty  thousand  volumes  of 
one  work  alone,  a  classical  encyclopaedia  containing  the 
history,  philosophy  and  ancient  literature  of  China, 
including  of  course  the  complete  writings  of  Confucius. 
The  books  were  of  uniform  size,  each  about  fifteen 
inches  long  and  eight  inches  wide,  and  each  set  of 
eight  volumes  was  kept  in  a  cedar  box  with  a  sliding 
cover.  The  paper  was  of  rice,  and  one-half  of  the 
books  were  bound  in  yellow  silk,  the  other  half  in 
green.  All  the  script  was  done  by  hand,  and  it  was 
as  beautiful  and  regular  as  copperplate.  The  con- 
tents of  those  libraries  —  the  others  having  been  situ- 
ated respectively  in  Peking,  Nanking,  and  a  town  far 

86 


TO    AND    FROM    THE    FRONT 

in  the  interior  to  the  northwest  —  were  exactly  alike. 
They  represented  the  scholarship  of  antiquity  and 
mythological  tradition,  a  scholarship  that  was  ancient 
before  the  dawn  of  civilization  in  Europe. 

Two  other  notable  sights  were  to  be  found  in  Muk- 
den. They  were  the  famous  Imperial  Tombs  of  the 
Manchus,  one  seven  miles  to  the  east  and  the  other 
four  miles  to  the  north.  The  east  tomb  was  the  mau- 
soleum of  the  founder  of  the  Manchu  dynasty,  Nor- 
Ha-Chu,  and  the  one  to  the  north  contained  the  ashes 
of  his  son,  Tia-Tsung.  Since  the  sepulture  of  these 
two  rulers  the  Manchu  emperors  have  been  buried 
near  Peking.  The  approaches  to  the  tombs  of  Mukden 
are  not  so  magnificent  as  those  of  the  famous  Ming 
tombs  near  Peking,  although  they  are  lined  by  splen- 
did monuments.  They  are  surrounded  by  stately  for- 
est trees  in  which  hundreds  of  singing  birds  find  their 
homes  and  sing  their  songs  amid  scenes  of  exquisite 
beauty.  No  more  restful,  soothing,  gentle  spots  could 
be  found  in  all  the  world  than  those  surrounding  these 
tombs.  The  half-dozen  temples  in  each  enclosure  are 
gorgeous  in  their  displays  of  brilliant  colour  and  deli- 
cate lacquer-work.  Greens,  reds,  blues  and  yellows  are 
blended  in  dazzling  combinations,  enhanced  by  be- 
wildering and  intricate  designs.  Grotesque  animals 
line  the  approaches,  and  imposing  monuments  recount 
the  virtues  of  the  dead.  Behind  the  main  temple  of 
each  tomb  is  a  colossal  mound,  occupying  nearly  an 
acre,  in  which  the  remains  of  the  Emperor  is  depos- 

87 


THE    REAL    TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 

ited  to  mingle  finally  with  nature.  No  stone  marks 
the  exact  burial-spot,  and  a  massive  sealed  gate  guards 
the  entrance  to  the  mound.  The  walls  surrounding 
the  north  tomb  were  slightly  injured  in  the  recent 
battle,  a  party  of  Russian  soldiers  having  taken  refuge 
there  and  held  out  against  great  odds  until  captured. 
The  Japanese  hold  these  burial-places  in  great  respect 
and  keep  them  constantly  under  guard.  The  Chinese 
complained  that  the  Russians  had  desecrated  the  tombs 
by  quartering  soldiers  there  regardless  of  protests  or 
the  religious  objections  of  the  natives. 

Railroad  transport  northward  having  been  inter- 
rupted by  a  flood  and  the  destruction  of  a  bridge, 
further  advance  to  the  front,  a  distance  of  nearly  a 
hundred  miles,  was  made  in  the  saddle.  It  was  a 
memorable  ride,  along  the  line  of  the  Russian  rout. 
Over  an  area  twenty  miles  long  by  seven  wide  the 
panic-stricken  soldiers  of  the  Tzar  had  scattered  their 
belongings  until  the  ground  was  fairly  littered  with 
impedimenta.  Here  and  there  were  evidences  of  where 
the  terror-stricken  men  had  halted  and  tried  to  throw  up 
earthworks  from  the  frozen  ground  as  a  temporary 
shield  from  their  relentless  pursuers.  Villages,  devas- 
tated by  fire  and  with  walls  pierced  by  bullets  or  shat- 
tered by  shells,  indicated  where  shelter  had  been  sought. 
Wrecked  gun-carriages,  old  felt  boots  by  the  thousands, 
tattered  bits  of  uniforms  and  broken  rifles  lay  scattered 
broadcast.  I  noticed  a  Russian  Bible  on  the  ground,  and 
a  sheet  of  note-paper  partly  written  over  that  might 

88 


TO    AND    FROM    THE    FRONT 

have  been  a  soldier's  farewell  letter  home.  Everything 
calculated  to  retard  the  terrified  flight  to  the  north 
had  been  thrown  to  the  winds.  On  every  side  were 
bones  of  dead  animals,  and  more  than  once  the  grue- 
some spectacle  of  gaunt  dogs  tearing  open  graves  was 
witnessed.  Although  thousands  of  peasants  were 
peaceably  cultivating  the  fields  and  the  signs  of  the 
rout  were  fast  disappearing,  evidences  still  remained 
to  indicate  the  terrible  panic  of  the  Russians  and  their 
disastrous  flight  from  the  greatest  battle  and  most 
crushing  defeat  recorded  in  history.  The  ride  over  the 
scene  of  that  mad  retreat'  was  worth  the  journey  to 
Manchuria. 

The  storm  that  had  caused  the  washout  on  the  rail- 
way had  also  temporarily  paralyzed  the  telegraph  lines, 
and  the  officials  along  the  route  had  not  been  apprised 
of  our  coming;  nevertheless  shelter,  food  and  blankets 
and  guides  were  invariably  provided  with  the  prompt- 
ness and  hospitality  that  characterized  the  Japanese 
official.  On  the  third  day  in  the  saddle,  after  a  trying 
experience  in  a  Manchurian  dust-storm,  the  famous  en- 
trenched pass  at  Tie-ling  was  reached.  The  Russians 
had  failed  to  give  battle  here,  largely  by  reason  of 
fright,  although  military  experts  say  that  the  strength 
of  the  pass  had  been  greatly  overrated  and  that  the 
Japanese  might  easily  have  taken  it  by  a  flank  move- 
ment, even  if  .the  Russians  had  attempted  its  defence. 
Nevertheless  the  fortress  was  a  wonderful  piece  of  en- 
gineering, and  I  could  not  but  feel  that  if  a  fight  had 

89 


THE    REAL    TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 

occurred  there  the  harrowing  experiences  of  the  Japa- 
nese at  Port  Arthur  would  have  been  repeated. 

At  Tie-ling  many  acres  of  army  stores  were  piled 
as  at  Dalney,  and  the  movements  of  the  thousands  of 
Chinese  carts  were  bewildering.  There  it  was  the  same 
story  of  hospitality,  only  much  intensified.  At  least 
once  every  half-hour  during  my  stay  an  orderly  ap- 
peared at  quarters  to  ask:  "What  will  you  have  to 
drink?" 

A  final  ride  of  twenty-five  miles  brought  us  to  the 
headquarters  of  the  Second  Army,  situated  in  the  vil- 
lage of  Chei-un-po,  to  reach  which  point  we  forded 
rivers  and  streams  and  journeyed  over  fields  and  around 
hills,  passing  more  thousands  of  the  Chinese  carts  pour- 
ing northward,  and  occasionally  detachments  of  sol- 
diers on  their  way  to  the  front.  The  reception  com- 
mittee of  officers  that  awaited  our  arrival  provided  a 
house  and  many  comforts,  even  sending  bulletins  of  the 
latest  news  telegraphed  from  Tokio.  General  Oku 
was  living  unostentatiously  in  a  little  neighbouring 
Chinese  house.  His  greeting  was  somewhat  formal, 
but  cordial.  When,  in  the  course  of  conversation, 
reference  was  made  to  the  remarkable  statistics  of  the 
health  of  his  army  up  to  the  first  of  January,  1905, 
which  had  more  than  confirmed  the  predictions  made 
by  the  author  in  America  the  previous  year,  the  gen- 
eral said  he  was  more  than  pleased  to  confirm  his  tes- 
timony, and  that  the  figures  given  were  absolutely 
accurate. 

90 


TO    AND    FROM    THE    FRONT 

Settled  down  for  a  stay  at  the  front,  it  was  difficult 
to  realize  that  an  army  of  nearly  six  hundred  thousand 
men  was  stretched  across  the  country  in  battle  array 
with  its  front  only  a  few  miles  away.  There  was  no 
pomp  or  show  about  headquarters.  On  all  sides  the 
peasantry  was  engaged  in  tilling  the  fields  as  if  there 
were  no  invading  hosts  within  thousands  of  miles.  All 
was  peace  and  quiet,  with  not  the  slightest  sign  of 
unusual  disturbance.  Occasionally,  however,  a  soldier 
might  be  seen  in  a  village  street,  and  always  in  the 
distance  at  least  one  scout  could  be  observed.  It  was 
necessary  to  ride  into  the  country  to  find  any  indica- 
tions of  war.  Great  strings  of  telephone  wires, 
stretched  on  slender  bamboo  poles,  ran  from  village 
to  village  in  every  direction.  They  were  the  trumpets 
of  modern  warfare  to  summon  the  soldiers  to  action. 
On  every  so-called  road  were  more  miles  and  miles  of 
carts,  pushing  their  way  to  the  north  like  long  pro- 
cessions of  ants.  Many  of  them  differed  slightly  from 
the  other  thousands  encountered  before  in  that  they 
had  four  wheels  and  were  drawn  by  a  single  horse  led 
by  a  Japanese  soldier.  The  army  had  used  the  Chinese 
carts  to  advance  its  supplies  from  grand  terminal  to 
grand  terminal,  but  were  using  their  own  vehicles  to 
transport  the  ammunition  and  food  to  the  firing  line. 
Military  secrets  are  more  or  less  exposed  on  the  battle- 
field, and  the  Japanese  intended,  as  far  as  possible, 
that  only  their  own  people  should  become  cognizant  of 
them.  Occasionally  the  booming  of  heavy  artillery  was 

91 


THE    REAL    TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 

heard,  as  the  Japanese  fired  on  the  Russian  cavalry 
which  ventured  within  range,  and  sometimes  the  sharp 
rattle  of  the  infantry  could  be  distinguished  on  the 
skirmish-line.  The  official  interpreters  would  explain 
on  those  occasions  that  the  soldiers  were  "  testing  the 
guns/'  as  blandly  as  if  they  really  expected  it  to  be 
believed  that  so  important  a  matter  had  been  left  to 
be  determined  at  the  front.  On  close  inspection,  in 
riding  from  village  to  village,  the  Japanese  soldiers 
could  be  discovered,  quartered  in  large  numbers,  prac- 
tically hidden  from  sight,  for  so  quiet  were  they  that 
one  had  to  hunt  to  find  their  whereabouts.  The  men 
remained  in  the  compounds  assigned,  and  were  rarely 
seen  on  the  streets;  they  were  never  boisterous  or 
noisy;  they  were  silently  and  patiently  waiting  the 
message  by  one  of  the  many  telephone  lines  that  should 
call  them  into  action  at  a  specific  point  —  for  each 
man  knew  exactly  where  he  was  to  report  and  what 
was  expected  of  him.  The  "first  line"  consisted  of 
little  more  than  trenches  patrolled  by  sentries,  while 
hidden  away  in  towns  and  villages  directly  behind  lay 
the  vast  army,  practically  an  invisible  host,  ready  to 
spring  at  an  instant's  notice.  Not  a  tent  was  visible; 
naught  was  to  be  seen  but  the  labourer  toiling  in  the 
field.  Only  the  interminable  procession  of  carts  carry- 
ing ammunition  and  the  daily  supplies  to  the  men, 
the  network  of  telephone  wires,  and  here  and  there  a 
scout,  suggested  the  presence  of  soldiery.  Did  even 


92 


TO    AND    FROM    THE    FRONT 

before  a  mighty,  victorious  army  at  the  front  present 
such  a  spectacle! 

And  then  came  the  news  of  peace  negotiations,  and 
soon  afterward  permission  to  return  to  Japan  —  which 
followed  a  visit  to  Port  Arthur,  as  related  elsewhere, 
and  a  ride  across  country  into  the  lines  of  Nodzu's 
army,  to  Kai-yuen,  the  northernmost  terminal  of  the 
railroad,  where  myriads  more  of  Chinese  carts  seemed 
to  cover  the  earth. 

The  transport,  Tango  Mam,  nearly  eight  thousand 
tons  burden,  one  of  the  finest  ever  built  in  Japan, 
waited  at  Dalney,  and  after  a  brief  stay  in  Mukden  I 
soon  found  myself  again  on  the  hospitable  shores  of 
Nippon.  In  Tokio  only  an  occasional  flag  or  banner 
even  hinted  that  the  country  was  not  at  peace  with 
all  mankind.  As  in  all  the  other  cities  of  Japan, 
there  seemed  no  scarcity  of  men  available  for  war; 
children  laughed  at  their  play;  theatres  and  tea- 
houses were  thronged  with  prosperous,  happy  people; 
and  only  such  a  spectacle  as  the  enshrinement  of 
thirty  thousand  dead  at  Shogonsha  suggested  aught 
of  the  sorrow  of  those  whose  sons  and  husbands  and 
lovers  had  passed  to  the  great  beyond. 

A  celebration  occurred  in  Dalney,  on  May  29th,  that 
is  vividly  recalled  —  the  first  anniversary  of  the  occu- 
pation of  the  city  by  the  Japanese.  Public  exercises 
were  held  in  the  Park,  with  speeches,  wrestling,  games, 
fireworks  and  refreshments.  The  people  apparently 
rejoiced  but  mildly  over  Togo's  great  victory,  seeming 

93 


THE    REAL    TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 

to  regard  it  as  the  natural  outcome  of  the  battle.  Dur- 
ing the  approach  of  the  Baltic  fleet  they  were  silent 
as  to  the  momentous  possibilities  of  the  hour,  and, 
though  deeply  apprehensive,  they  talked  of  trifling 
matters.  The  annual  wrestling  tournament  in  Tokio 
seemed  a  far  more  absorbing  topic  of  conversation. 
The  news  of  victory  brought  a  quiet  delight,  but  little 
demonstration,  or  outward  expression  of  enthusiasm. 
The  Japanese  had  come  to  anticipate  nothing  but  vic- 
tories. Nevertheless,  the  sense  of  national  relief  at  the 
outcome  was  profound. 

The  second  celebration  was  on  June  24th,  the  first 
anniversary  of  the  opening  of  the  great  military  hospi- 
tal at  Dalney.  The  3,150  soldiers  who  died  there  dur- 
ing the  year  were  enshrined.  During  the  service  the 
Buddhist  bishop  read  an  address  to  the  spirits  of  the 
departed,  informing  them  of  the  progress  and  conduct 
of  the  war.  That  was  followed  by  a  theatrical  per- 
formance given  by  the  soldiers,  and  in  conclusion  was 
an  exhibition  of  wrestling  by  professionals,  employed 
by  the  government  for  the  sole  purpose  of  amusing 
the  soldiers,  and  a  performance  by  professional  actors, 
sent  by  the  "  Consolation  Society "  with  the  same 
intent. 

In  Tokio  another  well-remembered  celebration  oc- 
curred in  July,  marking  the  departure  of  "the  Taft 
party"  from  the  Japanese  capital.  Not  since  the  visit 
of  General  Grant  had  officials  and  people  shown  such 
flattering  attention  to  foreign  guests.  The  climax  was 

94 


TO    AND    FROM    THE    FRONT 

reached  at  the  Shinbashi  railway  station  on  the  night 
of  their  departure.  Never  before  had  Japan  witnessed 
such  a  scene.  At  nine  o'clock  tens  of  thousands  of 
Japanese,  almost  every  one  bearing  a  gaily  coloured 
lantern,  packed  the  streets  and  plaza  before  the  sta- 
tion. Myriads  more  lanterns  were  strung  from  the 
housetops  and  across  the  neighbouring  streets.  Only 
a  narrow  lane  was  left  for  the  carriages  of  the  depart- 
ing guests  to  reach  the  platform;  the  remainder  of 
the  space  being  packed  to  its  outermost  boundaries  by 
a  madly  cheering  throng,  whose  joyful  "  banzais " 
would  have  drowned  the  din  of  battle.  As  Secretary 
Taft  arrived  the  people  surged  back  and  forth  in 
mighty,  struggling  waves,  and  the  sound  of  their 
greeting  was  like  the  roll  of  thunder.  When,  how- 
ever, a  few  moments  later,  the  daughter  of  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States  appeared,  accompanied  by 
Minister  Griscom  and  his  charming  wife,  it  seemed  as 
though  the  people  would  go  mad  with  frenzy. 

At  last  the  Japanese  had  broken  their  reserve  in 
time  of  war,  and  it  was  most  flattering  to  Americans 
to  know  that  it  was  done  in  honour  of  Americans.  I 
had  seen  Marshal  Oyama  and  his  staff  leave  for  the 
front  amid  great  cheering;  I  had  seen  Baron  Komura 
depart  for  the  United  States  on  his  mission  of  peace 
with  the  good  wishes  of  the  entire  nation,  but  no  such 
enthusiasm  marked  their  departure  as  was  accorded 
the  Taft  party.  It  was  comparable,  perhaps,  to  what 
might  occur  if  the  victorious  candidate  for  the  presi- 

95 


THE    REAL    TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 

dency  in  our  own  country  were  to  drive  through  a 
Broadway  crowd  on  election  night  while  watching  the 
returns. 

That  crowning  demonstration  revealed  as  nothing  else 
the  deep  friendship  the  people  of  Japan  have  for  the 
"United  States.  It  recalled  the  wording  of  Article  One 
in  the  first  foreign  treaty  ever  ratified  by  Japan,  and 
which  was  signed  by  Commodore  Perry,  at  Kanagawa, 
March  31,  1854,  which  reads :  — 

"  There  shall  be  a  perfect  and  universal  peace  and  a 
sincere  and  cordial  amity  between  the  United  States 
of  America,  on  the  one  part,  and  the  Empire  of  Japan, 
on  the  other,  and  between  their  peoples  respectively, 
without  exception  of  persons  or  places." 


CHAPTER   V. 

FIGURES  AND  COMPARISONS 

THE  examinations  of  a  few  of  the  statistics  of  the 
war  will  disclose  in  a  limited  degree  what  war- 
fare against   preventable   disease  has   meant   to 
Japan,  not  only  in  the  saving  of  life,  but  as  a  military 
asset.    Careful  study  of  data  specially  prepared  for  the 
author  by  the  War  Department  reveals  remarkable  re- 
sults.    To  appreciate  their  full  significance  it  is  well 
to  emphasize  certain  points  even  at  the  expense  of  re- 
iteration. 

Longmore's  tables,  to  quote  them  again,  show  that 
for  nearly  two  hundred  years  the  ratio  of  killed  to 
wounded  in  battle  has  been  about  1  to  4.  Occasionally, 
for  several  decades  at  a  time,  the  ratio  has  been  as  high 
as  1  to  5,  and  at  other  times  it  has  dropped  just  below 
1  to  4.  In  our  Civil  War  the  ratio  was  1  to  4.8,  com- 
puted from  fifty-six  battles.  In  the  Spanish-American 
War  it  was  1  to  4.6.  In  the  Boer  War  it  was  1  to  3.9. 
A  new  ratio  was  established  in  the  Eusso-Japanese  War, 
according  to  the  figures  given  me  by  the  War  Depart- 
ment. That  proportion  is  1  killed  to  3.31  wounded. 

97 


THE    REAL    TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 


Indeed,  in  some  of  the  large  battles  the  figure  has  been 
much  lower,  1  to  2.58  at  the  battle  of  the  Sha-ho  and 
1  to  2.77  at  Port  Arthur,  where  the  contest  was  char- 
acterized by  much  desperate  fighting  at  close  range 
and  with  frequent  terrible  hand-to-hand  encounters. 
Much  of  the  fighting  was  done  in  winter  on  ground  so 
solidly  frozen  that  it  was  impossible  to  throw  up  en- 
trenchments for  temporary  protection,  thus  causing  an 
increase  of  mortality.  This  partial  table  compiled  from 
the  War  Department  records  shows  the  relation  of  the 
killed  to  wounded  in  the  following  battles :  — 


BATTLES 

KILLED 

WOUNDED 

RATIO    1    TO 

Yalu 

231 

850 

3.67 

Nanshan 

745 

3,458 

4.64 

Telissu 

217 

946 

4.36 

Liaoyang 

3,182 

15,410 

4.84 

Sha-ho 

4,384 

11,340 

2.58 

Mukden 

9,690 

31,535 

3.25 

Port  Arthur 

4,539 

12,578 

2.77 

The  mean  ratio  for  all  these  engagements  is  1 
killed  to  3.31  wounded.  It  was  formerly  thought  that 
longer  range  and  smaller  calibre  of  the  modern  infan- 
try arm  would  materially  increase  the  ratio  between 
killed  and  wounded,  but  such  has  not  been  the  expe- 
rience. The  increased  mortality  in  the  Japanese  war 
was  due,  as  has  been  said,  chiefly  to  the  fierceness  of 
the  encounters  in  close  quarters  and  the  extensive  use 
of  artillery.  The  deadly  effect  of  the  long-range,  rapid- 

98 


FIGURES    AND    COMPARISONS 

firing  guns  has  been  largely  counteracted  by  the 
open  order  formations  on  the  firing  line,  and  there- 
fore the  ratio  of  killed  to  wounded  has  varied  but 
slightly. 

It  should  be  remembered  that  the  sick  have  num- 
bered in  the  past  three  to  ten  times  as  many  as  the 
wounded,  and  that  the  mortality  from  disease  has  been 
four  times  the  mortality  from  casualties.  In  other 
words,  four  men  usually  die  from  sickness  to  one  from 
bullets  in  war.  In  the  Spanish  war  the  ratio  was 
fourteen  deaths  from  disease  to  one  from  bullets,  a 
ratio  not  entirely  representative  because  but  one  real 
engagement  was  fought,  but  it  is  a  ratio  that  tells  the 
woful  story  of  defective  organization.  In  the  Boer 
War  eight  times  the  number  of  wounded  were  invalided 
home  on  account  of  disease  (these  figures  from  the 
Prize  Essay  of  1904  of  the  Association  of  Military  Sur- 
geons by  Lieutenant-Colonel  William  Hill-Climo,  being 
63,644  invalided  home  by  disease  to  8,221  returned  on 
account  of  wounds).  The  deaths  from  disease  in  that 
war  were  seven  times  more  than  the  deaths  from 
wounds.  Eight-tenths  of  this  mortality  was  due  to  in- 
fectious disease,  mostly  typhoid  fever.  To  appreciate 
the  significance  of  this  fact  it  should  be  recalled  that 
in  the  two  years  of  the  Boer  War  there  were  no  less 
than  twenty-four  thousand  cases  of  dysentery  and 
thirty-one  thousand  cases  of  enteric  or  typhoid  fever 
among  the  British  troops. 

In  1894,  in  the  war  with  China,  the  sick  in  the  Japa- 
8  99 


THE    REAL    TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 

nese  army  numbered  eight  times  as  many  as  the 
wounded.  In  the  Peninsular  War  the  British  lost  more 
than  four  men  from  disease  to  one  from  bullets.  Sum- 
ming up  these  facts,  it  may  be  said  that  in  war  it  is 
the  rule  that  four  times  as  many  are  wounded  as  are 
killed;  that  from  three  to  ten  times  as  many  soldiers 
are  victims  of  disease  as  are  wounded,  and  that  four 
times  as  many  die  from  disease  as  from  casualties  of 
war. 

Consider,  now,  the  record  of  the  Japanese  army  in 
the  war  with  Eussia.  The  figures  I  give  were  taken 
by  army  officials  from  the  army  records  up  to  the  first 
of  May,  1905.  To  question  their  accuracy  would  be 
a  reflection  on  the  honour  of  these  gentlemen,  and  an 
insult  to  the  nation.  Very  little  information  regarding 
the  war  has  been  made  public  by  the  Japanese  author- 
ities, but  that  little  has  always  proven  true.  It  will 
be  noticed  that  there  is  an  absence  of  totals  in  the 
tables,  which  is  to  be  accounted  for  by  the  fact  that 
the  Japanese  authorities  were  inflexible  in  their  de- 
termination to  keep  such  figures  a  military  secret,  the 
object  being  to  prevent  the  enemy  from  estimating, 
more  or  less  correctly,  the  number  of  men  sent  into 
the  field.  No  military  secret  has  been  better  guarded, 
and  that  is  the  more  remarkable  because  it  is  impossi- 
ble to  hide  the  movements  of  men  being  transported. 
Many  Japanese  have  approximate  ideas  of  the  numbers 
sent  with  the  colours,  but  none  will  reveal  them.  The 


100 


FIGURES    AND    COMPARISONS 

army  authorities  therefore  give  percentages  only,  and 
no  totals. 

One  important  total,  however,  the  officials  did  give  in 
the  first  table  of  general  statistics,  which  was  kindly 
prepared  for  me  by  the  direction  of  the  Minister  of 
War,  a  total  which  bears  a  most  significant  relation  to 
the  deductions  that  are  to  follow.  That  total  was  that 
there  had  been  killed  in  battle  from  the  beginning  of 
the  war  up  to  the  end  of  April,  1905,  exactly  43,892 
men.  In  view  of  the  percentages  given  later  that  figure 
is  of  prime  importance. 

The  first  table  that  follows  shows  that  the  numbers 
of  the  sick  and  wounded  in  the  army  were  almost  ex- 
actly equal,  the  percentage  being  49.99  for  the  wounded, 
and  50.01  for  the  sick.  That  is  one  startling  fact  in 
comparison  with  the  usual  ratio  of  from  1  to  3,  to  1 
to  10,  or  even  higher,  of  the  wounded  to  the  sick  in 
other  wars.  No  such  record  has  ever  been  made  be- 
fore. 

Another  salient  item  is  that  while  the  ratio  of  killed 
to  wounded  in  the  war  is  somewhat  lower  than  usual, 
being  1  to  3.31  instead  of  1  to  4,  the  ratio  of  the  killed 
in  action  to  those  dying  from  disease  is  unprecedented. 
The  tables  show  that  while  8.83  per  cent,  of  the  entire 
army  died  of  wounds  received  in  action,  on  the  field 
and  in  the  hospitals,  only  2  per  cent,  died  of  disease. 
In  other  words  nearly  four  and  one-half  men  died 
from  bullets  to  one  from  sickness  —  almost  exactly 
reversing  the  figures  in  former  wars.  An  exception 

101 


THE    REAL    TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 

to  past  figures  was  the  case  of  the  German  army  in  the 
Franco-Prussian  war,  when  the  Germans  lost  only  one- 
half  the  number  of  men  from  disease  as  were  lost  from 
battle  casualties.  The  Japanese  have  reduced  that 
record  200  per  cent.  more.  Besides  it  must  be  remem- 
bered that  the  Franco-Prussian  war  was  of  short  dura- 
tion compared  with  the  war  with  Russia  and  that  the 
Germans  were  nearer  their  base,  with  easy  access  to 
their  reserve  hospitals.  It  is  a  compliment  to  the 
Germans,  whose  military  methods  the  Japanese  have 
adopted,  that  the  latter  have  been  able  to  improve  so 
vastly  upon  the  records  of  their  mentors,  especially 
when  it  is  recalled  that  hostilities  were  conducted  in 
a  land  hundreds  of  miles  away,  across  a  sea  and  with 
transportation  facilities  that  to  an  ordinary  army  would 
be  almost  hopeless. 

The  still  more  astonishing  fact  is  presented  that 
instead  of  the  majority  of  the  cases  of  disease  being 
infectious,  as  in  the  Boer  War,  only  3.51  per  cent,  of 
the  total  sick  in  the  Japanese  army  was  due  to  infec- 
tious diseases.  It  is  true  that  a  high  percentage  of 
those  infectious  cases  were  fatal,  treatment  of  typhoid 
in  the  field  being  attended  with  unusually  bad  results. 
However,  infectious  diseases  were  a  comparatively  in- 
significant factor,  whereas  they  have  heretofore  been 
the  chief  causes  of  disease  in  all  fighting  armies. 

Now  comes  another  surprising  fact.  Exactly  24.3 
per  cent,  of  the  sick  and  wounded,  or  about  half  of 
the  total  sick,  in  the  army  were  cases  of  beri-beri,  or 

102 


FIGURES    AND    COMPARISONS 


kakki,  as  it  is  known  by  the  Japanese  —  an  illness 
which  is  preventable  and  which  has  been  wiped  out  of 
the  Japanese  navy.  Even  with  that  tremendous  handi- 
cap the  number  of  sick  and  wounded  was  practically 
equal  up  to  the  end  of  April.  Had  beri-beri  been  pre- 
vented, as  it  might  have  been,  the  number  of  cases  of 
sickness  would  have  been  only  about  three-quarters  the 
number  of  the  wounded,  which,  in  view  of  the  records 
of  all  previous  wars,  would  have  been  almost  incredi- 
ble. 

Here  is  the  first  table  prepared  for  me  at  the  War 
Office :  — 

TABLE  I. 


PERCENTAGES  OF  THE  TOTAL 
NUMBER  OF  PATIENTS 

RESULTS 

•o 
£ 

0 

0 

T) 

• 

5 

Discharged 
for 
Disability 

Remaining 
under 
Treatment 

Wounds  received  in  action 

46.53 

38.55 

6.20 

3.60 

51.65 

Other  wounds  and  injuries 

4.46 

62.23 

1.61 

2.33 

33.93 

Contagious  and  infectious 

diseases 

3.61 

16.71 

39.59 

43.70 

Other  diseases 

46.40 

50.25 

4.85 

1.19 

43.71 

Total 

100% 

44.25 

6.57 

2.29 

46.89 

Total  number  killed  in  action  for  the  entire  army,  up 
to  the  end  of  April,  1905,  43,892. 

This  table  tells  its  own  story.  Here  is  another  table 
compiled  in  a  different  way  and  given  to  me  a  few 
days  later  by  officers  of  the  War  Department :  — 

103 


THE    REAL    TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 

TABLE    II. 

Killed  in  action 7.32% 

Died  of  wounds  received  in  action         ....  1.61% 

Wounded  in  action 24.27% 

Other  wounded  (accidents,  etc.)  and  sick      .        .        .  27.11% 
Died  from  disease  (not  including  infectious  and  conta- 
gious diseases) 1.24% 

Contagious  diseases 1.93% 

Died  of  infectious  and  contagious  diseases    .        .        .  0.76% 

Number  never  wounded  or  sick  during  war  .        .        .  36.86% 

Total                                         ....  100% 


Considering  these  two  tables  in  connection  with  each 
other,  an  important  fact  is  revealed.  We  know  that 
the  killed  in  action  numbered  43,892  and  that  this 
sum  represented  7.32  per  cent,  of  the  army  in  the 
field.  By  a  simple  calculation  we  find  that  the  number 
of  men  at  the  front  must  have  been  599,617,  or  six 
hundred  thousand  in  round  numbers,  a  figure  believed 
to  be  correct.  Those  who  died  of  disease,  exclusive 
of  infectious  and  contagious  diseases,  amounted  to  1.24 
per  cent,  of  the  entire  army  in  the  field,  and  those 
who  died  of  contagious  diseases  amounted  to  0.76. 
Therefore  the  entire  deaths  from  all  diseases  amounted 
to  exactly  two  per  cent,  of  the  army  in  the  field,  a 
rate  of  twenty  per  thousand  of  strength.  On  a  basis 
of  an  army  of  six  hundred  thousand  this  would  mean 
that  only  twelve  thousand  men  died  of  disease. 

We  are  now  ready  to  consider  another  table  of  per- 
centages furnished  at  a  still  later  date  by  the  War 

104 


FIGURES    AND    COMPARISONS 

Office,  which  shows  the  details  regarding  various  dis- 
eases that  affected  the  troops. 


TABLE   III. 


PERCENTAGES  OF  PATIENTS  IN 
ENTIRE  ARMY  CORPS  AT  A 
CERTAIN  DATE 

•3 

• 
G 

O 

a 

• 

5 

Discharged 
for 
Disability 

Remaining 
Sick 

Malaria 

0.37 

62.18 

3.58 

0.25 

33.99 

Beri-beri 

24.30 

48.39 

5.88 

0.12 

46.61 

Frost-bite 

0.75 

37.44 

0.88 

0.29 

61.39 

Dysentery 

1.96 

26.11 

26.63 

48.26 

Typhoid 

1.61 

4.83 

57.43 

37.74 

Smallpox 

0.05 

32.92 

9.32 

67.76 

Wounds  received  in  action 

45.53 

38.55 

6.20 

3.60 

61.66 

All  other  wounds  and  injuries 

3.71 

67.22 

1.64 

2.74 

28.40 

All  other  diseases 

21.73 

52.13 
H.ltf" 

3.71 

2.39 

41.77 

Total 

100% 

6.57 

2.29 

46.89 

Developing  the  subject  further,  let  us  see  what  would 
have  been  the  condition  in  the  Japanese  army  had  the 
usual  ratios  between  the  sick  and  wounded  obtained. 
For  such  purposes  let  us  place  the  wounded  at  145,000. 
Suppose  the  sick  had  numbered  eight  times  the 
wounded,  as  was  the  case  in  the  Japanese  army  in  the 
war  with  China.  The  sick  in  this  war  would  have 
numbered  1,160,000,  or  about  twice  the  total  army  in 
the  field.  Suppose  the  sick  had  numbered  only  three 
times  the  wounded.  That  would  have  meant  435,000 
men,  or  nearly  three-fourths  of  the  entire  army.  Sup- 
pose the  sick  had  been  only  twice  the  wounded,  it  would 

105 


THE    REAL    TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 

have  meant  290,000  men,  or  about  three  of  the  five 
Manchurian  armies.  The  low  percentage  of  sickness 
kept  the  ranks  free  from  dead  gaps,  and  allowed  sea- 
soned troops  to  be  retained  on  the  firing  line  instead 
of  having  to  replace  them  with  raw  recruits. 

To  appreciate  the  great  advance  made  by  Japan  in 
ten  years  in  her  war  on  preventable  disease  one  should 
also  compare  the  totals  of  such  disease  with  those  in 
the  war  with  China  in  1894,  when  her  army  was  about 
one-third  the  size  of  the  late  Manchurian  force.  In 
the  war  with  China,  according  to  the  war  records,  she 
had  12,052  cases  of  dysentery  against  6,624  estimated 
in  the  war  with  Russia  —  twice  the  number  of  cases 
of  dysentery  —  and  7,667  cases  of  cholera,  with  a  mor- 
tality of  sixty-one  per  cent.,  as  against  no  recorded 
cases  ten  years  later. 

Malarial  diseases  formed  another  subject  for  strik- 
ing comparison  between  the  campaigns.  In  the  war 
with  China  41,734  cases  occurred.  In  the  war  with 
Russia  (according  to  the  table  of  percentage)  the  num- 
ber is  estimated  at  1,257.  A  visit  to  the  various 
armies  sustains  the  conclusions  reached  by  a  study  of 
the  tables  presented.  Statistics  furnished  me  person- 
ally by  Major-General  Mori,  chief  medical  officer  of 
General  Oku's  army,  show  that  the  total  number  of 
cases  of  illness  in  that  army  from  October,  1904,  to 
April,  1905,  inclusive,  averaged  fifteen  hundred  a 
month,  the  figures  being:  October,  1,946;  November, 
1,721;  December,  883;  January,  1,356;  February, 

106 


FIGURES    AND    COMPARISONS 

2,300;  March,  1,444;  April,  1,241.  If  Oku's  army 
was  seventy-five  thousand  strong,  and  it  certainly  was 
not  less  than  that,  for  the  Japanese  always  keep  the 
ranks  full,  this  represents  a  rate  of  sick  cases  of  only 
two  per  cent.  If  the  army  was  one  hundred  thousand 
strong,  an  estimate  made  hy  many  observers,  the  per- 
centage drops  to  1.5.  Now  the  sickness  from  beri- 
beri alone  was  forty  per  cent,  of  the  entire  illness  in 
that  army,  the  cases  running  from  618  in  October  to 
383  in  March,  with  maximum  of  851  in  February. 
The  largest  number  of  cases  of  typhoid  fever  in  any 
month  was,  according  to  General  Mori,  sixty-six,  which 
dwindled  to  only  two  in  February,  and  the  total  number 
of  cases  of  that  disease  for  the  seven  months  was  only 
187. 

To  those  who  remember  the  needless  deaths  and 
afflictions  of  thousands  of  American  homes,  the  rec- 
ords of  Chickamauga,  Tampa,  Miami,  Camp  Alger, 
Cuba,  Porto  Rico,  and  Montauk,  a  comparison  with 
these  made  by  Oku's  army  certainly  has  a  melan- 
choly interest.  A  similar  story  is  that  of  dysentery. 
There  were  forty-eight  cases  of  that  dreadful  disease 
in  Oku's  army  in  October.  The  next  month  there 
were  only  five.  After  that  there  was  one  case  in  Feb- 
ruary and  one  in  April  and  no  more,  a  total  of  fifty- 
five  cases  in  seven  months.  This  is  the  record  handed 
me  in  person  by  General  Mori,  who  gave  me  his  word 
that  it  was  absolutely  correct,  and  permission  to  keep 
his  personal  memorandum  as  a  voucher.  This  memo- 

107 


THE    REAL    TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 

randum  by  General  Mori  receives  confirmation  from 
another  set  of  statistics  kept  by  another  officer  and 
given  to  me  in  confidence  not  to  be  disclosed  till  the 
war  was  over.  These  figures  cover  the  vital  statistics 
of  Oku's  army  from  the  beginning  of  the  war  to  the 
end  of  February,  1905,  and  include  the  summer  months 
of  1904,  which  are  not  covered  by  General  Mori.  The 
figures  show  that  during  the  first  year  of  the  campaign 
that  army,  which  did  the  severest  fighting  of  the  war 
and  had  had  fully  sixty  thousand  wounded  (for  it 
fought  all  the  way  from  Nanshan  to  Mukden),  had 
only  two  hundred  cases  of  typhoid  fever  and  343  cases 
of  dysentery,  while  the  cases  of  beri-beri  numbered 
7,277  —  a  striking  confirmation  of  the  fact  that  the 
proportion  of  infectious  diseases  was  comparatively  in- 
significant and  that  the  overwhelming  disease  of  the 
army  was  beri-beri.  Indeed  the  diminution  in  that 
disease  from  851  cases  in  February,  when  the  ration 
was  changed,  to  383  cases  in  April,  the  month  that 
beri-beri  is  usually  most  prevalent,  apparently  demon- 
strates the  fact  that  it  could  have  been  greatly  reduced, 
if  not  entirely  controlled,  by  proper  dietary. 

Other  figures  regarding  the  sickness  in  that  army, 
made  independently  and  given  to  me  in  confidence, 
make  a  similar  showing.  According  to  these  figures, 
given  me  by  Major  Takai  at  Tie-ling,  there  were  in 
Oku's  army  from  the  beginning  of  the  war  until  the 
end  of  December,  1904,  6,152  cases  of  beri-beri,  232 


108 


FIGURES    AND    COMPARISONS 

of  dysentery,  and  thirty-three  of  typhoid  fever.    These 
figures,  it  will  be  seen,  substantially  agree. 

Other  statistics  regarding  Oku's  army,  covering  a 
different  period,  came  direct  from  the  War  Department 
in  Tokio,  and  show  that  of  20,642  cases  of  illness, 
trifling  as  well  as  otherwise,  18,500  recovered  in  the 
field,  and  2,142  were  invalided  home  or  died.  Of  those 
340  were  cases  of  dysentery  and  133  were  cases  of 
typhoid  fever.  Those  astonishing  figures, ,  made  public 
in  January  last,  more  than  sustained  the  author's 
statements  made  before  the  committee  on  military  af- 
fairs at  the  Congress  of  last  February.  In  a  personal 
interview  in  June  last  with  General  Oku  at  his  head- 
quarters in  Manchuria,  and  in  the  presence  of  Surgeon- 
General  Mori,  General  Oku  said  he  was  glad  to  be  able 
to  vouch  personally  for  the  figures  given  at  that  time. 
The  record  made  in  Oku's  army  is  supplemented  in  a 
striking  way  by  that  made  in  the  field  by  the  First 
Army  under  Kuroki.  Following  are  the  number  of 
cases  of  sickness  in  Kuroki's  army  during  the  first 
six  months  of  its  campaign :  —  March,  3,829  cases 
of  various  types,  3  cases  of  dysentery,  3  of  typhoid 
fever,  22  of  beri-beri;  April,  3,545  cases  of  various 
types,  20  of  dysentery,  1  of  typhoid  fever,  and  56  of 
beri-beri;  May,  3,154  of  various  types,  16  of  dysentery, 
9  of  typhoid  fever,  54  of  beri-beri;  June,  4,824  of 
various  types,  31  of  dysentery,  9  of  typhoid  fever,  and 
128  of  beri-beri;  July,  5,565  of  various  types,  29  of 
dysentery,  4  of  typhoid  fever,  and  251  of  beri-beri; 

109 


THE    REAL    TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 

August,  6,006  of  various  types,  10  of  dysentery,  9  of 
typhoid  fever,  and  737  of  beri-beri. 

These  figures  show  how  beri-beri  gradually  crept 
up  into  the  hundreds  in  six  months.  It  increased  to 
thousands  in  the  next  few  months,  also  in  Oku's  army, 
but  I  was  informed  at  the  War  Department  that  Kuroki 
had  proportionally  less  than  any  other  commander. 
Kuroki's  operations,  it  will  be  remembered,  were  car- 
ried on  chiefly  in  the  mountains.  The  comparative 
freedom  in  the  first  six  months  of  the  war  of  his 
troops  from  dysentery  and  typhoid  fever,  undoubtedly 
the  best  record  of  all  the  armies,  shows  not  only  the 
result  of  extreme  care  by  his  medical  officers,  but  the 
influence  of  a  rugged  country,  uninfected  by  previous 
occupation  of  an  army. 

The  statistics  of  the  home  hospitals  also  corroborate 
those  given  out  by  the  authorities  for  the  entire  army, 
as  well  as  those  secured  at  the  front.  To  the  great 
reserve  hospital  at  Hiroshima  the  majority  of  the  sick 
and  wounded  from  Manchuria  were  first  brought. 
From  there,  as  soon  as  their  condition  warranted,  they 
were  distributed  to  other  reserve  hospitals  in  Japan. 
Of  the  patients  brought  back  to  Hiroshima,  forty-two 
per  cent,  were  wounded  and  fifty-eight  per  cent,  were 
sick  (Tanake  and  Onishi).  These  were  the  figures 
secured  from  the  records  of  that  institution  up  to 
June,  1905,  a  period  of  more  than  a  year.  Infectious 
and  contagious  diseases  constituted  only  1.2  per  cent, 
of  the  total  admissions,  and  only  a  little  over  one- 

110 


FIGURES    AND    COMPARISONS 

half  of  one  per  cent,  of  the  sick.  These  figures  con- 
firm the  statement  that  the  sick  and  wounded  were 
about  equal.  Of  course,  at  the  base  hospitals  close  to 
the  front  there  were  times,  especially  after  a  great 
battle,  when  the  wounded  were  far  in  excess  of  the 
sick.  At  Liaoyang,  where  many  of  the  wounded  from 
the  battle  of  Mukden  were  sent,  it  being  the  second 
great  hospital  to  the  rear,  fifty-one  thousand  wounded 
to  forty-one  thousand  sick  were  admitted.  Many  of 
the  wounded  at  Mukden  were  taken  from  the  cars  at 
Liaoyang  for  a  short  rest,  while  a  large  number  of 
sick  were  sent  direct  to  Dalney.  It  was  said  that  the 
sick  were  slightly  in  excess  of  the  wounded,  and  that 
the  cases  of  beri-beri  were  between  one-sixth  and  one- 
seventh  of  the  entire  220,000  cases  which  passed 
through  the  Dalney  hospitals,  the  wounded  almost 
equaling  the  number  of  the  sick.  At  the  great  reserve 
hospital  in  Osaka,  which  in  one  emergency  cared  for 
twenty  thousand  patients,  the  deaths  to  June,  1905, 
numbered  only  seventy-six.  The  hospital  was  almost 
constantly  full.  The  small  number  of  deaths  compares 
favourably  with  the  number  of  deaths  from  wounds 
in  Oku's  army,  as  given  out  by  some  of  the  officials, 
who  placed  the  figures  at  the  astonishing  number  of 
sixty-eight.  The  deaths  of  both  sick  and  wounded  in 
the  Hiroshima  hospital  were  less  than  one  per  cent, 
of  the  admissions.  In  the  Dalney  hospital  the  number 
of  deaths  was  1.5  per  cent,  3,150  out  of  220,000. 
Confirmatory  also  of  the  comparatively  small  amount 
111 


THE  REAL  TRIUMPH  OF  JAPAN 

of  typhoid  fever  in  the  army,  was  the  statement  of 
one  of  the  officers  connected  with  the  hospital  at 
Hiroshima,  viz. :  —  that  up  to  the  end  of  April  they 
had  received  only  1,200  cases  of  typhoid  fever  from 
the  front.  The  difference  between  these  figures  and 
the  total  of  more  than  five  thousand  which  occurred  in 
the  army  is  explained  hy  the  fact  that  many  of  these 
cases  were  treated  in  the  field,  where  the  mortality  was 
high.  In  the  Hiroshima  hospital  the  mortality  from 
typhoid  Was  12.1  per  cent.  '  The  mortality  for  dysen- 
tery at  Hiroshima  was  10.7  per  cent.,  while  that  for  the 
entire  army  for  this  disease  was  twenty-five  per  cent. 

It  will  be  interesting  to  note  something  of  the 
character  of  the  wounds  treated.  In  Kuroki's  army, 
from  the  battle  of  the  Yalu  to  and  including  the 
battle  at  Liaoyang,  there  were  7,967  men  wounded. 
Of  these  6,753  were  small  arms  bullet  wounds,  1,073 
from  shells  and  hand  grenades,  and  141  from  bayonets. 
The  bayonet  wounds  were  all  received  at  the  battle  of 
Liaoyang,  where  the  Russians  first  used  hand  grenades. 

A  different  ratio  of  bayonet  wounds  is  presented  by 
the  records  of  one  division  of  Nogi's  army  in  the 
siege  of  Port  Arthur.  These  figures  were  given  to  me 
by  the  chief  surgeon  of  this  division,  who  made  four 
tables,  each  recording  one  of  the  assaults  on  the  chain 
of  mountain  fortresses.  The  total  number  of  wounded 
under  that  surgeon's  care  was  2,500,  and  of  those, 
1,478  were  wounded  by  small  arms  missiles,  790  by 
shells  and  hand  grenades,  and  235  by  bayonets  and 

112 


FIGURES    AND    COMPARISONS 

swords.  Compare  the  latter  number,  235,  with  the 
number  of  bayonet  wounds,  141,  in  Kuroki's  entire 
army  of  three  divisions  in  four  great  battles,  and  one 
sees  how  desperate  the  fighting  must  have  been  and  at 
what  close  quarters. 

Both  tables  show  that  the  days  of  hand-to-hand 
fighting  are  not  over,  and  that  the  time  to  discard  the 
bayonet  in  warfare  has  not  yet  arrived.  The  largest 
number  of  bayonet  wounds  at  Port  Arthur  were  re- 
ceived in  the  last  grand  assault.  The  figures  are :  first 
assault,  74  bayonet  wounds;  second,  20;  third,  20; 
fourth,  121.  This  may  be  compared  also,  as  indicating 
the  character  of  fighting,  with  the  record  of  the  same 
division  in  the  fight,  in  the  open,  at  Kin-chau,  where 
576  were  wounded  by  bullets,  twenty-seven  by  shells, 
and  only  twelve  by  bayonets.  Of  the  actions  in  which 
that  division  was  engaged  at  Port  Arthur,  the  first 
grand  assault  took  place  to  the  north  of  the  city  be- 
tween two  villages  called  Takasaki  and  Udaisan.  The 
second  took  place  also  on  the  plain  near  Sin-shi-yen, 
near  the  village  where  Stoessel  capitulated.  The  third 
assault  was  at  203  Metre  Hill,  and  the  fourth  was  be- 
tween 203  Metre  Hill  and  Sun-shu-shan  Fortress. 

The  statistics  of  the  sick  and  wounded  in  the  navy 
in  the  war  are  also  most  remarkable.  There  were  lost 
through  battle  casualties  2,000  men,  of  whom  1,445 
were  drowned,  500  on  the  battle-ship  Hatsuse  Maru 
alone.  Only  563  men  were  killed  by  projectiles.  The 
wounded  numbered  1,665.  Of  those  647  were  suffi- 

113 


THE    REAL    TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 

ciently  severe  to  require  their  transfer  to  the  naval 
hospitals.  The  total  number  treated  at  Sasebo  was 
2,936,  2,289  of  whom  were  medical  cases,  or  about  ten 
per  cent,  of  the  entire  floating  force,  which  was  about 
25,000  men.  The  total  number  of  deaths  from  disease 
was  199.  A  remarkable  fact  was  the  complete  elimina- 
tion of  beri-beri  from  the  navy.  Only  two  cases  devel- 
oped, and  both  were  doing  shore  duty  and  had  not 
seen  sea  service.  The  health  of  the  men  was  better 
during  the  war  than  during  the  five  previous  years  of 
peace.  In  those  five  years  5.17  per  cent,  of  the  force 
suffered  from  disease.  Since  the  commencement  of 
hostilities  the  admission  rate  for  all  causes  for  the 
entire  force  was  but  5.4  per  cent.  The  men  remaining 
continuously  aboard  ship  for  many  months,  resulted 
in  a  diminution  of  disease. 

With  this  presentation  of  statistics  is  it  any  wonder 
that  forty-five  per  cent,  of  the  sick  and  wounded  in  the 
army  were  actually  returned  to  duty  in  the  field,  and 
that  over  thirty-five  per  cent,  of  the  army  never  missed 
a  day's  duty  during  the  entire  campaign?  It  is  a 
marvellous  record  unparalleled  in  history.  A  noted 
military  authority  recently  made  this  statement :  "  The 
number  of  deaths  from  disease  should  be  no  greater 
than  the  number  killed  in  action."  This  sentiment  was 
advanced  as  an  ideal  in  war.  The  Japanese  have  re- 
duced the  deaths  from  disease  to  about  one-fourth  the 
number  killed  in  battle.  What  a  comment  on  the 
sanitary  methods  of  the  past  in  other  armies! 

114 


CHAPTER   VI. 

PREPARATIONS   FOR  CARE  OF   WOUNDED  AND  SICK 

LOXG  before  the  opening  of  hostilities  thorough 
preparations  had  been  made  in  the  hospital  serv- 
ice as  in  every  other  department  of  Nippon's 
army.  First  of  all  preparation  was  made  for  the  pre- 
vention of  disease,  for  it  was  recognized  that  every 
soldier  saved  to  the  ranks  from  hospital  was  a  double 
gain  as  it  meant  the  greater  fighting  power  and  the 
diminution  of  army  impedimenta. 

To  prevent  disease  the  army  medical  systems  of  the 
world  were  studied  and  a  new  one  evolved,  of  which 
Japan  may  well  be  proud,  as  it  has  stood  the  practical 
test  of  efficiency.  Surgical  and  medical  equipments 
for  both  field  and  hospital  were  provided,  adequate  for 
all  emergencies.  It  was  recognized  that,  if  the  silent 
foe  was  to  be  overcome  and  a  large  percentage  of  the 
wounded  was  to  be  returned  to  the  colours,  it  was  as 
necessary  to  have  a  Medical  Department  well  equipped 
with  men  and  supplies  as  it  was  for  the  army  to  have 
ammunition  and  guns. 

The  war  with  China  had  taught  her  that  her  army 
medical  system  was  sadly  deficient.  Following  her  cus- 
9  115 


THE    REAL    TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 

torn,  Japan  sent  her  students  abroad  to  learn  the 
equipments  as  well  as  the  methods  of  other  nations. 
Well  do  I  remember  in  Peking,  in  1899,  the  visit  of 
Doctor  Tanake  and  his  assistants  to  the  American 
Headquarters  and  hospitals,  where  every  detail  was 
noted,  with  what  care  the  hospital  stores  and  kits  were 
examined  and  photographed,  how  the  instruments  were 
inspected,  and  how  intelligently  the  attendants  were 
questioned  by  the  Japanese  visitors. 

Colonel  Hirayama,  now  at  the  head  of  the  Pharmacy 
Department  of  the  army,  was  sent  abroad,  where  his 
researches  occupied  several  years.  On  his  return  he 
recommended  the  adoption  of  a  modification  of  the 
Austrian  system  of  supplying  medicines  and  instru- 
ments to  the  army  in  the  field  and  to  military  hospitals. 
Those  modifications  consisted  largely  in  the  creation 
of  a  department  of  pharmacy  for  the  army,  which 
should  be  responsible  for  all  medical  supplies  in  the 
hospitals,  in  the  field,  and  elsewhere,  and  thus  relieve 
the  medical  officers  of  the  army  of  that  burdensome 
task,  with  its  necessary  red  tape  of  paper  work  and 
correspondence  —  the  bane  of  many  armies,  especially 
of  the  American.  Under  the  Japanese,  the  medical 
officers  attend  to  matters  medical  and  surgical,  and  do 
not  qualify  as  clerks.  All  the  work  of  caring  for  sup- 
plies devolves  on  the  Pharmacy  Department,  and,  to 
bestow  proper  importance  upon  it,  commissioned  rank 
is  given  to  its  officers.  The  head  of  the  service  holds 
the  rank  of  colonel,  with  a  lieutenant-colonel,  four 

116 


PREPARATIONS    FOR    CARE    OF    SICK 

majors  and  other  minor  officers  as  assistants.  His  office 
is  in  Tokio.  About  five  hundred  officers  are  in  this 
branch  of  the  army  service.  A  captain  is  in  charge  of 
each  of  the  numerous  supply  stations  along  the  line 
to  the  front.  Every  sanitary  corps  has  its  own  pharma- 
cist, and  every  field  (division)  and  base  hospital  like- 
wise. This  officer  has  charge  of  all  drugs,  instruments 
and  supplies,  and  is  responsible  for  all  records.  In 
addition  to  other  duties,  he  assists  in  laboratory  work 
of  hospitals,  such  as  making  bacteriological,  micro- 
scopical and  chemical  examinations,  as  well  as  exami- 
nations of  water. 

A  water-testing  outfit  goes  with  every  sanitary  de- 
tachment, and  every  foraging  and  scouting  detachment 
is  accompanied  by  a  medical  officer  who  makes  the 
examination  of  the  water  to  be  used  by  the  troops. 
Wells  are  usually  placarded  with  a  sign  describing  the 
character  of  the  water,  whether  fit  for  drinking,  or 
otherwise,  for  the  guidance  of  the  advancing  troops. 
The  outfit  is  carried  in  a  leather-bound  canvas  case 
about  a  foot  long,  eight  inches  high  and  six  inches 
wide,  containing  sixteen  bottles  of  various  chemicals, 
test  tubes,  litmus  and  filter  paper,  and  other  necessary 
materials.  Every  army  division  carries  no  less  than 
seven  of  them  in  its  advance  sanitary  equipment,  so  that 
more  than  a  hundred  were  actually  in  service  at  the 
extreme  front.  In  addition,  every  field  hospital  has  one, 
which  means  nearly,  if  not  quite,  a  hundred  more. 
They  were  found  with  every  sanitary  detachment,  at 

117 


THE    REAL    TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 

every  base  and  reserve  hospital,  at  all  the  barracks  and 
camps  at  the  front,  and  at  all  the  supply  depots :  all  the 
troops  received  the  benefit  of  that  service.  It  is  no 
exaggeration  to  say  that  that  little  testing  apparatus 
was  one  of  the  most  efficacious  and  important  factors 
for  the  preservation  of  the  soldiers'  health  in  the  field. 

Much  thought  was  bestowed  upon  the  preparation  of 
all  other  medical  supplies  for  the  field;  those  were 
packed  in  bamboo  and  wicker  containers,  making  light 
and  durable  packages  for  transportation.  All  necessary 
supplies,  instruments,  drugs,  etc.,  were  on  hand  in 
charge  of  that  department  long  before  the  commence- 
ment of  hostilities.  To  the  great  credit  of  its  officers 
it  may  be  said  that  never  once  during  the  war  was 
there  any  lack  of  medical  supplies  or  any  serious  short- 
age of  stock  in  the  depots  or  in  the  field. 

A  visit  to  the  warehouses  adjoining  the  War  Office 
in  Tokio  was  a  revelation.  There  were  chests  for  base 
hospitals,  for  field  hospitals,  for  sanitary  detachments, 
for  regiments;  the  contents  of  each  had  been  fully 
considered.  A  catalogue  was  kept  of  every  instrument, 
drug  and  appliance  on  hand,  and  the  entire  adminis- 
tration operated  in  such  a  systematic  manner  that  any 
desired  object  could  be  instantly  located  and  hurried  to 
the  place  where  it  was  needed.  So  perfectly  did  that 
machinery  work  that  when  I  expressed  a  desire  to  pur- 
chase one  of  the  water-testing  outfits  it  was  delivered 
at  my  hotel  before  I  arrived  there.  In  the  great  store- 
houses one  saw  improved  litters,  every  variety  of  sur- 

118 


PREPARATIONS    FOR    CARE    OF    SICK 

gical  instrument  needed  in  the  field,  vast  quantities  of 
drugs,  dressings,  operating  tables,  furniture,  etc.  The 
system  was  carried  to  such  a  point  of  perfection  in 
details  that  miniature  hospital  tents  were  set  up  for 
the  purpose  of  illustrating  their  equipment  in  the  field. 
There  were  even  stretchers  on  runners  for  sliding  the 
patients  over  the  snow.  Ambulances,  saddle  bags,  clever 
devices  for  packing,  every  detail  seemed  to  be  so  perfect 
in  that  system  as  to  challenge  one's  admiration. 

Particularly  well  equipped  was  the  service  in  micro- 
scopes. A  superb  weapon  it  made  against  the  Eussians, 
for,  by  its  vigilant  employment,  war  was  made  upon 
bacteria,  depriving  the  enemy  of  the  vast  help  they 
would  otherwise  have  derived  from  the  devastating  and 
silent  foe,  disease.  Japan  recognized  that  microscopes 
were  as  important  as  11-inch  guns,  and  she  sent  them 
to  the  front,  and  they  found  their  way  into  every  place 
where  an  extended  stay  was  made,  and  wherever  bacteria 
were  likely  to  be  found.  In  the  war  with  China  tests 
for  poisoned  wells  were  frequently  made,  but  in  the  con- 
flict with  Russia  the  need  for  such  precaution  was  elim- 
inated, that  method  of  warfare  being  prohibited  by  the 
Geneva  Convention.  There  was  always  danger,  however, 
that  individual  Chinamen,  nourishing  real  or  fancied 
grievances,  might  resort  to  poison  as  a  means  of  revenge. 

No  one  can  calculate  the  benefits  of  the  chemical 
and  microscopical  examinations  made  by  the  Japanese, 
who,  by  temperament  and  natural  proclivity,  are  pecul- 
iarly adapted  to  such  investigations,  because  no  people 

119 


THE    REAL    TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 

possess  greater  patience,  endurance,  and  determination 
to  get  at  the  very  bottom  of  things.  They  are  extremely 
fond  of  details  and  minutiae,  and  little  things  appeal 
especially  to  their  fancy. 

Having  settled  all  the  details  of  the  system  and  the 
character  and  amount  of  medical  supplies  needed, 
Japan  procured  them  in  advance,  and  as  each  regiment 
left  for  the  front,  twelve  medical  chests  —  four  for 
each  battalion  —  were  ready  to  leave  with  it.  Japan 
would  as  soon  send  soldiers  to  the  front  without  these 
chests  as  without  rifles.  Special  transports  were  set 
apart  for  the  medical  supplies,  or  special  places  were 
reserved  for  them  in  certain  transports. 

The  splendidly  systematized  equipment  of  the  Phar- 
maceutical Department  was  an  instructive  example  from 
which  Occidental  nations  might  well  profit. 

Shortage  of  ammunition  in  the  emergencies  of  battle 
sometimes  occurred,  and  men  occasionally  went  hun- 
gry, but  never  was  there  any  deficiency  of  medical 
supplies  and  instruments  in  the  field.  This  statement 
is  founded  upon  the  writer's  personal  observation,  and 
is  supported  not  only  by  the  testimony  of  every  sur- 
geon the  writer  met,  but  by  every  medical  attache  whom 
he  consulted. 

The  supreme  test  of  an  army's  medical  organization 
comes,  of  course,  in  time  of  battle.  The  severer  the 
clash  of  arms,  the  greater  is  the  strain  made  upon  the 
medical  organization.  In  no  great  battle  in  history 
has  the  medical  organization  of  an  army  proven  ade- 

120 


PREPARATIONS    FOR    CARE    OF    SICK 

quate  to  the  demands  made  upon  it ;  but  the  best  record 
ever  made  in  that  direction,  embodying  as  it  did  an 
approach  to  perfection,  was  that  of  the  Japanese  in  the 
war  with  Russia. 

"  Don't  let  the  wounded  interfere  with  the  strategy 
of  battle  "  was  a  rule  as  inflexibly  obeyed  by  the  Japa- 
nese as  by  any  other  nation.  Nor  did  their  system 
differ  much  from  that  theoretically  practised  in  other 
armies;  but  it  was  noteworthy  how  effectively  that  sys- 
tem was  executed. 

Every  army's  plan  for  caring  for  the  wounded  in 
battle  provides  for  a  collecting  station,  a  short  distance 
in  the  rear  of  the  firing  line',  to  which  the  wounded  are 
conveyed  at  once;  a  dressing  station  a  little  further  in 
the  rear,  where  the  wounds  are  examined  and  cared  for 
hastily;  a  field  hospital,  still  further  in  the  rear  and 
usually  out  of  the  zone  of  fire,  where  temporary  hos- 
pital treatment  is  given  to  the  injured,  and  a  base 
hospital  still  further  in  the  rear,  where  the  wounded 
are  taken  care  of  preparatory  to  being  removed  to  re- 
serve hospitals  at  home.  The  field  hospital  moves  on 
with  the  army  and  is  a  part  of  its  organization.  All 
care  of  the  wounded,  of  course,  presupposes  the  existence 
of  a  corps  of  surgeons,  supplies  of  medical  and  surgical 
necessities,  the  presence  of  nurses,  and  facilities  for 
transporting  patients. 

Provision  for  clearing  the  field  of  the  wounded,  how- 
ever, is  only  a  small  part  of  the  preliminary  work.  The 
Japanese  recognized  that  the  wounded  soldier  and  his 

121 


THE    REAL    TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 

immediate  companions  must  share  a  great  part  of  the 
responsibility  of  saving  lives  without  interfering  with 
the  strategy  of  battle.  To  that  end,  and  especially  just 
before  giving  battle,  every  officer  impressed  that  hard 
and  fast  rule  upon  the  minds  of  his  men :  "  If  you  are 
hit,  don't  wash  or  touch  your  wound  in  any  way.  The 
wound  permitting,  apply  the  first  aid  dressing  yourself ; 
otherwise  get  assistance.  If  you  are  able,  walk  to  the 
collecting  station;  otherwise  wait  as  patiently  as  pos- 
sible for  the  litter-bearers  to  fetch  you." 

The  organization  of  the  Medical  Corps  of  the  Japa- 
nese Army  has  at  its  head  a  lieutenant-general  who  is 
a  member  of  the  General  Staff.  With  each  army  in 
the  field  is  a  surgeon-general  with  the  rank  of  major- 
general.  Colonels  are  detailed  as  brigade  surgeons, 
and  in  charge  of  the  leading  base  and  reserve  hospitals. 
With  each  infantry  regiment  there  are  six  surgeons, 
the  senior  of  whom  is  a  major  or  lieutenant-colonel: 
these  are  assisted  in  their  duties  by  three  chief  attend- 
ants and  twelve  ordinary  attendants,  one  of  whom 
has  the  equivalent  rank  of  a  sergeant-major,  and  the 
others  are  privates.  In  addition  every  company  has 
four  men  bearers,  who  are  especially  instructed  in 
applying  dressings.  The  attendants  and  the  specially 
instructed  men  carry  knapsacks  containing  dressing 
material  for  wounds.  Each  battalion  has  a  pack-horse 
which  carries  two  bags,  containing  medical  instruments 
and  dressings,  and  four  litters.  In  addition  to  this 
force  eight  privates  are  detailed  from  the  ranks  of 

122 


PREPARATIONS    FOR    CARE    OF    SICK 

each  battalion  to  act  as  litter-bearers  for  the  four  lit- 
ters carried  by  the  pack-horse.  It  is  the  duty  of  these 
men  to  carry  such  of  the  wounded  as  are  unable  to  walk 
to  the  collecting  station  in  the  rear,  where  they  are 
taken  charge  of  by  a  new  corps,  called  the  Sanitary 
Corps.  Each  division  has  one  of  these  sanitary  detach- 
ments. It  consists  of  nine  surgeons  and  sixty  privates, 
called  attendants,  who  are  really  nurses.  The  sanitary 
detachment  of  each  division  also  has,  as  part  of  it, 
two  bearer  companies,  consisting  of  about  two  hundred 
men  each,  for  whose  work  from  ninety  to  one  hundred 
litters  are  provided.  The  medicines  and  instruments 
used  by  the  corps  are  carried  on  pack-animals.  The 
Sanitary  Corps  operates  on  the  battle-field,  and  takes 
the  wounded  from  the  collecting  stations  to  the 
dressing  stations,  where  ambulances  or  other  convey- 
ances are  in  readiness  to  transport  them  to  the  field 
hospital.  The  latter  usually  has  as  its  chief  surgeon 
a  major,  who  has  eight  assistant  surgeons  and  about 
sixty  enlisted  attendants.  This  hospital  has  its  oper- 
ating-table and  a  full  equipment  of  surgical  instru- 
ments; this  is  the  nearest  point  to  the  firing  line  at 
which  an  operating-table  is  used. 

In  their  surgical  work  the  Japanese  surgeons  were 
extremely  conservative.  Amputations  were  compara- 
tively rare,  both  in  the  army  and  navy.  As  might  be 
supposed,  wounds  inflicted  by  artillery  were  more  prone 
to  infection  than  those  inflicted  by  small  arms.  Per- 
forating rifle  wounds  of  the  chest  frequently  healed 

123 


THE    REAL    TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 

under  the  first  aid  dressing,  without  suppuration  or 
other  complications,  and  many  cases  of  perforating 
rifle  wounds  of  the  abdomen  and  brain  recovered  with- 
out operation.  Plaster  of  Paris  bandages  were  used 
extensively.  Splintering  of  bones  appeared  to  occur 
relatively  more  often  in  the  navy  than  in  the  army; 
conservatism  in  such  cases  was  generally  followed  by 
good  results.  Traumatic  aneurisms  were  frequently 
met  with.  Naturally  the  removal  of  bullets,  pieces  of 
shell  and  foreign  bodies  constituted  the  bulk  of  the 
operative  surgery. 

The  kitchens  in  the  field  hospital  were  entirely  sepa- 
rate from  those  of  the  army,  so  that  when  admitted 
to  the  field  hospital  the  soldier  for  the  first  time  got 
special  food  and,  in  grave  cases,  delicacies.  The  field 
hospitals  were  usually  in  buildings,  sometimes  in  tents; 
each  hospital  was  supposed  to  accommodate  two  hun- 
dred patients  for  a  few  hours  at  least;  from  there  they 
were  removed  to  a  temporary  field  hospital,  if  they 
remained  on  the  field:  a  hospital  comparable  to  a 
division  hospital  when  the  troops  are  in  camp.  Further 
in  the  rear  were  the  large  etappen  hospitals,  entirely 
out  of  the  range  of  fire,  where  the  wounded  might  be 
kept  in  comparative  comfort  until  removed  to  base 
hospitals,  where  they  remained  until  returned  to  duty 
or  were  further  transferred  across  the  sea  to  the  re- 
serve hospitals  in  Japan. 

The  surgeons  in  the  army,  like  the  civil  physicians 
in  Japan,  are  of  three  classes:  (1)  those  who  have 

124 


PREPARATIONS    FOR    CARE    OF    SICK 

graduated  from  universities  at  home  or  abroad;  (2) 
those  who  have  graduated  from  medical  schools  of  a 
lower  grade  than  universities;  (3)  those  who  have  a 
license  to  practise  medicine  after  examinations,  hav- 
ing served  as  students,  often  in  physicians'  offices.  The 
university  graduates  compose  the  smaller  number,  and 
the  specially  licensed  practitioners  the  larger.  In  the 
Second  and  Third  Armies  at  the  battle  of  Mukden  no 
less  than  fourteen  surgeons  were  killed  or  wounded  on 
the  field.  The  services  of  civil  surgeons  were  often 
required,  and  from  that  source  Japan  obtained  a  suf- 
ficient supply  of  physicians  for  the  sanitary  detach- 
ments and  field  hospitals,  but  occasionally,  in  the 
emergencies  of  battle,  there  was  not  enough  of  what 
is  called  the  under-personnel,  or  attendants  and  nurses. 
For  this  under-personnel  the  men  volunteer  and  re- 
ceive special  training.  When  their  numbers  become 
depleted  it  is  not  always  possible  to  secure  efficient 
substitutes.  The  attendants  are  required  to  spend  one 
year  in  the  ranks  in  ordinary  military  training,  and  the 
rest  of  their  service  with  the  army  is  devoted  to  hos- 
pital work.  They  begin  with  limited  responsibilities 
and  gradually  become  trained  in  nursing,  and  may 
attain  the  rank  of  sergeant-major.  On  the  other  hand 
it  was  comparatively  easy  to  keep  the  ranks  of  the  sur- 
geons filled,  about  five  thousand  of  the  forty-five  thou- 
sand physicians  in  Japan  having  seen  army  service, 
or  one  to  every  one  hundred  of  the  troops  —  an  un- 
usually large  ratio.  In  this  connection  it  is  note- 

125 


THE    REAL    TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 

worthy  that,  although  some  of  the  most  eminent  med- 
ical men  were  called  on  to  help  in  army  hospitals  at 
home,  they  invariably  served  as  assistants  to  the  men 
in  charge,  who  frequently  had  been  their  former  pupils 
in  the  university,  but  they  never  transcended  the 
limits  of  discipline  and  willingly  served  under  their 
inferiors  in  professional  ability. 

Even  during  the  battle  of  Mukden,  which  lasted  six- 
teen days,  and  in  that  at  Liaoyang,  every  hospital  in 
operation  was  well  supplied  with  medical  and  surgical 
necessities.  Every  soldier  had  a  first  aid  package  and 
knew  how  to  use  it.  No  operations  were  permitted 
on  the  field,  except  in  cases  of  emergency  or  where 
death  was  imminent  from  hemorrhage,  reliance  being 
placed  upon  the  efficiency  of  the  aseptic  first  aid 
dressing.  The  first  aid  packet  of  the  Japanese  Army 
differs  in  no  essential  from  that  of  other  armies.  It 
consists  of  two  compresses  of  sublimated  gauze,  a  steril- 
ized safety-pin,  all  enclosed  in  paraffined  paper,  and  a 
triangular  bandage,  which  are  secured  in  a  closely 
sewn  khaki-coloured  cotton.  There  was  not  a  foreign 
surgeon  with  the  Japanese  armies  and  not  an  attache 
who  was  not  a  complete  convert  to  the  practicability 
of  the  first  aid  package  idea  on  the  field  of  battle. 
So  proficient  were  the  soldiers  in  adjusting  the  con- 
tents of  these  bandages  that  in  many  cases  no  further 
treatment  was  necessary,  and  the  bandages  were  not 
even  disturbed  by  the  surgeons. 

Captain  Hoffmann  of  the  General  Staff  of  the  Ger- 
126 


PREPARATIONS    FOR    CARE    OF    SICK 

man  Army,  and  its  Military  Attache,  with  whom  I  had 
the  pleasure  of  returning  from  the  front,  was  enthu- 
siastic over  the  first  aid  treatment.  He  narrated  an 
instance  of  seeing  a  man  with  a  severe  penetrating 
wound  of  the  chest.  The  man  shouted  the  usual 
"  Banzai,"  and  fell.  The  surgeons  ran  to  him,  applied 
the  first  aid  bandage,  and  restored  him  sufficiently  to 
enable  him  to  walk  to  the  rear.  That  afternoon  Cap- 
tain Hoffmann  saw  him  again  ten  miles  in  the  rear. 
He  had  walked  the  entire  distance  without  assistance, 
not  even  going  to  a  hospital  for  treatment.  The  cap- 
tain followed  up  the  case  and  was  astounded  to  learn 
that  he  received  no  further  medical  treatment,  but  that 
he  recovered  and  returned  to  his  command. 

Thus,  having  perfected  a  system  of  supplying  med- 
ical stores  and  surgical  equipment  to  her  armies,  hav- 
ing trained  her  soldiers  to  help  themselves  in  every 
possible  emergency,  having  instilled  into  them  the  re- 
spect for  the  medical  officer,  having  made  ready  her 
transports  and  hospitals,  and  with  the  ranks  of  her 
medical  and  surgical  corps  full,  and  thoroughly  trained, 
Japan  awaited  the  shock  of  battle. 


127 


CHAPTEE   VII. 

CAEE   OF   THE   WOUNDED   AND   SICK 

TO  appreciate  the  thoroughness  of  detail  in  caring 
for  the  wounded,  the  reader  should  familiarize 
himself  with  the  arrangements  made  just  before 
a  great  battle  —  Mukden  for  example. 

An  examination  of  the  field  was  made  from  the  hos- 
pital standpoint.  There  were,  in  round  numbers,  a 
hundred  field  hospitals  in  use,  if  the  ratio  of  from  five 
to  six  to  a  division  obtained,  which  was  generally  the 
case.  More  than  a  hundred  sites  had  previously  been 
selected,  the  locations  of  which  were  made  known  to  the 
officers,  who  in  turn  informed  the  men  in  the  ranks. 
Immediately  in  the  rear  of  each  battalion  a  site  for  a 
dressing  station  was  selected,  which  such  of  the 
wounded  as  were  able  to  walk  could  readily  reach.  At 
Mukden  collecting  stations  were  largely  eliminated  or 
made  to  coincide  with  the  dressing  stations.  Medical 
chests  were  made  ready,  operating-tables  for  the  field 
hospitals  prepared,  instruments  sterilized,  stretchers 
and  ambulances  inspected.  Chinese  carts  and  coolies 
were  engaged  to  help  in  the  transportation  of  the 
wounded.  Every  soldier  made  sure  that  his  first  aid 

123 


CARE   OF   THE   WOUNDED   AND   SICK 

package  was  ready  for  instant  use,  and  every  soldier 
had  a  bath. 

The  battle  began. 

Almost  immediately  the  wounded  came  pouring  into 
the  dressing  stations.  Theoretically  the  company  bear- 
ers were  to  carry  their  wounded  to  the  collecting  or 
dressing  stations;  theoretically  the  sanitary  bearers 
there  were  to  take  them  further  to  the  rear  or  to  the 
field  hospitals;  but  in  a  great  battle  like  that  at  Muk- 
den, lasting  sixteen  days,  the  theoretical  details  went 
to  pieces,  although  the  general  idea  of  the  system  held 
good.  Every  man  was  helping  almost  indiscriminately 
in  the  endeavour  to  clear  the  field  of  the  wounded,  in- 
cluding those  left  behind  by  the  retreating  enemy. 
Surgeons  from  the  collecting  or  dressing  stations  ran 
forward  to  the  first  line,  while  the  sanitary  and  com- 
pany bearers  invaded  each  other's  field  of  work  in  their 
eagerness  to  remove  the  wounded  to  the  rear.  Sur- 
geons and  stretcher-bearers  were  wounded  or  killed, 
and  many  of  the  wounded  lay  for  hours  where  they 
fell,  because  there  was  no  one  to  help  them. 

With  the  thermometer  far  below  zero  most  of  the 
time  the  ground  was  so  frozen  that  it  was  impossible 
to  throw  up  entrenchments  or  even  to  scrape  together 
a  little  earth  for  purposes  of  protection.  But  the  rushes 
against  the  enemy  went  on.  And  here  it  may  be  men- 
tioned that  the  Japanese  often  made  rushes  to  the 
astounding  length  of  three  hundred  yards  (as  against 
one  hundred  yards  in  other  armies),  after  which  they 

129 


THE    REAL    TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 

flung  themselves  on  the  ground  at  the  word  of  com- 
mand to  assail  the  enemy  with  rifle  fire.  Knowing  the 
condition  of  the  ground,  the  soldiers,  during  those  run- 
ning onslaughts,  carried  bags  of  dirt  or  stones,  or  bits 
of  blankets  or  lumber  —  anything  they  could  find  — 
to  serve  as  a  shield  after  they  prostrated  themselves. 
One  man  was  seen  carrying  a  dress-suit  case  (filled 
with  thawed-out  earth),  to  hide  behind  when  the  rush 
ended. 

It  has  been  noticed  in  all  great  battles,  but  more 
markedly  so  at  Mukden,  that  soldiers  hit  during  a 
rush  will  continue  running  until,  at  the  end  of  the 
rush,  they  fall  down  with  the  others  at  the  word  of 
command;  and  it  is  only  when  they  are  unable  to  rise 
with  the  others  for  another  rush  that  the  fact  of  their 
having  been  wounded  becomes  apparent.  Of  course, 
many  men  fell  the  instant  they  were  hit,  but  the  fact 
that  some  could  run  for  many  yards  before  they  felt 
the  full  effect  of  the  shock  was  especially  interesting 
to  the  foreign  attaches,  who  were  observing  the  results 
of  improved  rifle  fire  on  the  battle-field. 

At  times  the  fire  was  so  hot  and  at  such  close  range 
that  it  meant  certain  death  to  try  to  reach  the  wounded. 
Whenever  there  was  a  gigantic  assault  involving  a 
wide  stretch  of  territory  they  had  to  remain  where  they 
were  until  darkness  set  in  and  a  search  could  be  made 
for  them. 

Some  of  the  field  hospitals  became  so  overcrowded 
that  those  able  to  walk  had  to  be  sent  to  other  hos- 

130 


CARE   OF  THE   WOUNDED   AND   SICK 

pitals,    and    the    same    necessity    might    repeat    itself 
there. 

Whenever  a  wounded  soldier  was  admitted  to  a  field 
hospital  his  name  and  description  was  recorded  and  a 
tag  pinned  to  his  clothing :  a  red  tag  for  a  severe  wound 
and  a  white  tag  for  one  that  was  not  so  serious.  From 
the  field  stations  the  patients  were  taken  either  to  a 
temporary  field  hospital,  or  to  an  etappen  hospital  — 
the  first  on  the  line  of  communication  to  the  rear. 

Surgeons  were  definitely  instructed  never  to  attempt 
difficult  operations,  those  for  example  that  would  prob- 
ably terminate  fatally. 

At  the  dressing  stations  no  operations  were  per- 
formed except  for  severe  hemorrhage  or  wounds  of  the 
trachea.  Even  in  the  field  hospitals  operations  were 
remarkably  few.  Major  Taniguchi,  surgeon  of  the 
Fifth  Division  of  General  Oku's  army,  who  was  re- 
garded as  one  of  the  best  surgeons  in  the  field,  told  me 
that  he  had  performed  only  five  amputations  during 
the  entire  sixteen  days  of  fighting  around  Mukden  — 
three  legs  and  two  arms.  All  of  those  patients  recov- 
ered. Major  Matignon,  the  French  military  attache, 
who  during  the  great  battle  went  over  the  field  and 
from  hospital  to  hospital  observing  the  Japanese  method 
of  caring  for  the  wounded,  told  me  that  he  observed 
only  one  operation  —  for  a  wound  of  the  bladder  — 
and  that  he  was  astonished  at  the  alacrity  with  which 
the  field  hospitals  were  evacuated  and  the  wounded 
cared  for. 

io  131 


THE    REAL    TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 

Most  of  the  field  hospitals  were  at  times  under  ar- 
tillery fire,  but  the  hoisting  of  the  hospital  flag  was 
purposely  omitted  for  fear  of  attracting  the  attention 
of  the  enemy's  gunners,  who  would  probably  be  unable 
to  distinguish  the  fluttering  bunting  as  a  hospital  em- 
blem. Major  Matignon  indeed  stated  having  seen  two 
train-loads  of  wounded  fired  upon  by  the  Russians,  but 
he  was  unable  to  say  whether  it  was  through  intention 
or  by  accident. 

After  the  fearful  battle  of  Mukden  was  ended,  the 
Japanese  were  terribly  handicapped  by  the  enemy  leav- 
ing his  dead  and  wounded  on  the  field  as  he  retreated, 
while  the  Russians  thereby  gained  the  advantage  of 
being  free  from  that  tremendous  impedimenta.  Sixty 
thousand  prisoners,  many  of  whom  were  wounded  and 
sick,  were  captured  by  the  Japanese,  relieving  the  strain 
on  the  Russian  hospitals  to  an  enormous  extent.  Sim- 
ilar conditions  prevailed  in  Port  Arthur,  where  seven- 
teen thousand  sick  and  wounded  were  captured.  This 
fact  should  be  borne  well  in  mind,  for  should  at  a  later 
date  invidious  comparisons  be  made  regarding  the  low 
death-rate  of  the  Russian  wounded,  it  is  Japan  to 
whom  the  credit  belongs.  For  it  was  under  Japanese 
care  that  such  a  large  percentage  of  them  recovered. 
As  prisoners  of  Japan  they  were  placed  amid  healthy 
surroundings,  where  they  had  the  advantage  of  good, 
nourishing  diet,  and  the  best  medical  care  that  cir- 
cumstances could  allow. 

Inside  the  field  hospitals  everything  was  active  up  to 
132 


CARE   OF   THE   WOUNDED   AND   SICK 

the  very  moment  when  the  order  came  for  the  hospital 
to  be  moved  forward.  Then  the  wounded  were  either 
moved  to  a  neighbouring  building  or  left  where  they 
were,  the  station  then  being  called  a  temporary  field 
hospital.  The  hospital  force  was  divided,  one  portion 
remaining  behind  with  the  wounded,  and  the  other 
hastily  packing  up  and  dashing  after  the  column  that 
was  pursuing  the  enemy. 

The  branch  of  the  service  taking  charge  of  those 
left  behind  was  distinct  from  that  on  the  field. 

There  began  the  railroad  hospital  service.  From  the 
last  field  hospital  to  the  etappen  hospital  the  patients 
were  carried  in  detachments,  each  accompanied  by  a 
surgeon.  Sometimes  the  distance  to  the  hospital  at 
the  first  railroad  station  was  many  miles,  over  which 
the  more  seriously  wounded  were  carried  on  litters,  four 
men  —  Chinese  coolies  —  to  a  litter ;  the  less  seriously 
wounded  were  transported  in  carts.  Long  trains  of 
wounded  were  common  sights  after  a  great  battle,  and 
the  processions  of  them  lasted  for  days.  After  a  rest 
at  the  railroad  terminus  the  wounded  were  sent  by  rail 
and  by  easy  stages  to  Yentai,  Liaoyang,  and  other 
cities,  while  others  were  sent  through  to  the  great  base 
hospital  in  Dalney,  a  distance  of  about  250  miles,  where 
they  remained  until  strong  enough  to  bear  the  sea 
voyage  to  Japan. 

At  every  etappen  station  along  the  line  there  were 
rest  rooms  with  surgical  attendance,  where  men  unable 
to  travel  more  than  a  few  miles  would  rest;  so  that 

133 


THE    REAL    TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 

just  after  a  great  battle  but  few  trains  arrived  at  Dal- 
ney  with  their  full  complement  of  wounded. 

The  train  service,  though  more  or  less  crude  for  want 
of  rolling  stock  —  all  of  which  had  to  be  brought  from 
Japan  —  was  prompt.  At  the  battle  of  Mukden  only 
nine  trains  a  day  were  being  sent  to  the  station  near- 
est the  battle-ground.  They  arrived  and  departed  at 
regular  intervals  and  ran  at  a  speed  of  about  ten  miles 
an  hour.  They  consisted  of  freight-cars  exclusively 
and  transported  wounded  on  the  down  trip  and  freight 
on  the  return  trip.  The  contrast  between  the  Japanese 
and  Kussian  train  service  was  characteristic.  Bishop 
Harris  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  at  Mukden 
told  me  that  the  Russians,  while  in  possession  of  Muk- 
den, had  on  a  siding  probably  the  best  equipped  and 
finest  hospital  train  in  the  world,  fitted  •  with  bath- 
rooms and  every  surgical  appliance.  It  was  palatial, 
and  could  accommodate  nearly  two  hundred  wounded. 
Imagine,  one  gorgeously  equipped  hospital  train  with 
a  capacity  of  two  hundred  to  care  for  nearly  one 
hundred  thousand  wounded  and  sick-!  The  Japanese 
had  no  hospital  train,  but  they  were  soon  using  nine 
trains  of  freight-cars,  the  serious  cases  being  cared  for 
in  box  cars  and  the  others  in  the  ordinary  open,  flat 
cars.  True,  the  invalids  were  exposed  to  the  inclemen- 
cies of  the  weather,  but  so  they  were  on  the  firing  line, 
and  here  as  well  as  there  they  bore  the  necessary  ordeal 
with  that  stolid  patience  and  fortitude  that  character- 
izes the  soldier  without  "nerves." 

134 


3     £ 


CARE   OF   THE   WOUNDED   AND   SICK 

The  same  method  was  employed  in  transporting  the 
wounded.  In  time  of  hattle  they  were  sent  to  the  field 
hospitals,  and,  when  no  engagement  was  going  on,  to 
division  hospitals,  which  were  gradually  emptied  when 
it  was  safe  to  remove  the  patients  to  the  etappen  hos- 
pitals. 

The  field  hospitals  were  organized  to  accommodate 
about  two  hundred  patients,  but  the  records  of  one 
division  of  Kuroki's  army,  which  has  already  been 
made  the  basis  of  a  foreign  government  report,  shows 
that,  for  example,  after  the  battle  of  Liaoyang  the 
average  number  of  patients  to  each  field  hospital  must 
have  been  426,  since  there  were  2,348  wounded  in  that 
division,  and  only  five  and  one-half  hospitals  to  care 
for  them.  To  understand  the  latter  figure,  it  should 
be  explained  that  each  field  hospital  equipment  was 
capable  of  division  into  two  parts.  The  second  division 
of  the  same  army  had  to  care  for  849  wounded  with 
only  two  field  hospitals  at  the  engagement  on  the  left 
bank  of  the  river  at  Liaoyang.  In  the  twelfth  division 
of  the  same  army  the  average  number  of  patients  cared 
for  in  five  engagements  was  225,  but  sometimes  as  low 
an  average  as  115  to  each  field  hospital. 

Data  regarding  the  evacuation  of  field  hospitals 
varied  widely.  Of  sixteen  in  Kuroki's  army  at  Muk- 
den two  were  only  occupied  for  two  days,  but  the  usual 
time  of  occupation  was  from  five  to  nine  days.  The 
longest  stay  —  seventeen  days  —  occurred  at  a  hospital 
called  Shimo-kokako.  The  largest  number  cared  for 

135 


THE    REAL    TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 

in  those  field  hospitals,  according  to  the  records,  were 
2,300,  2,000  and  1,427,  respectively.  One  hospital  was 
open  for  two  days,  caring  for  only  four  cases,  one  for 
twelve  and  one  for  fourteen  days,  but  the  majority 
opened  and  closed  in  about  a  week. 

Dalney,  the  great  base  hospital  in  Manchuria,  where 
the  lines  of  the  sick  and  wounded,  so  to  speak,  con- 
verged, received  every  case  that  was  to  be  sent  to  the 
reserve  hospital  at  home  in  Hiroshima,  and  even  there 
very  few  operations  were  performed. 

Arriving  at  the  etappen  hospital  the  wounded  and 
sick  came  for  the  first  time  in  contact  with  the  Red 
Cross  Service.  Their  surgeons,  nurses  and  supplies  are 
not  allowed  on  the  battle-field  according  to  the  Japa- 
nese system.  This  was  not  the  case  in  the  Eussian 
service,  in  which  members  of  the  Red  Cross  Society, 
men  and  women,  were  permitted  to  go  to  the  front. 
At  first  the  Japanese  could  not  understand  how  it  was 
possible  for  them  to  capture  Red  Cross  surgeons  and 
nurses,  and  they  were  inclined  to  think  that  the  Rus- 
sians were  playing  a  trick  on  them. 

Much  has  been  written  upon  the  admirable  Red 
Cross  System  of  Japan.  With  branches  practically  in 
every  city  and  town,  a  membership  of  1,250,000,  a 
royal  prince  as  honorary  president  and  their  Majes- 
ties the  Emperor  and  Empress  giving  it  their  personal 
approval  and  assistance,  it  is  unquestionably  the  best 
in  the  world.  Organized  strictly  as  an  army  auxiliary, 
it  is  practically  transferred  bodily  to  the  army  in  time 

136 


CARE   OF   THE   WOUNDED   AND   SICK 

of  war.  Its  surgeons  serve  under  the  directions  of 
army  surgeons  and  its  nurses  work  in  the  same  way. 
It  becomes  a  part  of  the  army's  Medical  Department 
organization,  and  its  officials  surrender  all  practical 
control  of  the  Society  and  its  affairs,  so  far  as  work- 
ing in  the  field  is  concerned,  to  the  Medical  Depart- 
ment of  the  Army. 

In  anticipation  of  the  present  war  the  Society  had 
filled  its  storehouses  with  surgical  and  medical  sup- 
plies, instruments  and  clothing.  Its  large  Tokio  hos- 
pital, where  its  special  staff  of  nurses  is  trained,  was 
turned  over  to  army  control  and  became  one  of  the 
most  important  military  reserve  hospitals  in  Japan. 
It  had  also  kept  in  readiness  two  hospital  ships,  carry- 
ing a  complement  of  110  nurses  and  131  litter-bearers. 

Through  the  courtesy  of  the  officials  of  the  Society, 
of  which  I  count  it  a  great  honour  to  be  a  life  member, 
I  am  able  to  present  for  the  first  time  a  summary  of 
its  work  since  the  early  part  of  the  war. 

The  Society  had  3,852  nurses,  men  and  women,  em- 
ployed up  to  July  1,  1905,  2,628  of  whom  were  female, 
employed  exclusively  in  hospitals  and  other  home  sta- 
tions where  the  sick  and  wounded  needed  attention. 
In  places  where  there  were  no  female  nurses  834  male 
nurses  were  employed,  while  390  nurses  of  both  sexes 
worked  together  at  other  institutions. 

Of  so-called  Red  Cross  Relief  Detachments  twenty- 
one  were  at  work  on  Army  Hospital  Ships  (not  Red 
Cross  Ships)  up  to  October,  1904,  while  more  than 

137 


THE    REAL    TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 

eighty-two  Eelief  Detachments  had  been  sent  to  the 
field  to  cooperate  with  the  army  surgeons.  A  Relief 
Detachment  consists  of  two  surgeons,  one  apothecary, 
one  clerk,  two  chief  nurses  and  twenty  nurses.  The 
detachments  sent  to  the  field  consisted  of  men  only, 
while  those  sent  to  the  hospital  ships  consisted  of  men 
and  women.  In  the  hospitals  at  home  women  only 
were  employed  as  nurses. 

A  new  experiment  consisted  in  the  establishment 
of  the  so-called  Patients'  Transport  Columns,  consist- 
ing of  a  director,  a  surgeon,  a  clerk,  two  chief  and 
three  ordinary  male  nurses,  and  three  chief  and  120 
ordinary  litter-bearers,  which  were  sent  out  to  assist 
in  bringing  the  wounded  down  the  line.  Although 
those  bearers  were  selected  from  retired  privates,  they 
were  instructed  anew  for  two  months  for  that  par- 
ticular work,  and  there  is  little  doubt,  from  all  ac- 
counts at  hand,  that  their  work  was  attended  with  the 
most  gratifying  results,  although  full  details  have  not 
yet  been  made  known. 

Excellent  work  was  also  done  by  the  "  Nursing  Asso- 
ciation," which  is  allied  to  the  Red  Cross  Society,  and 
which  the  princesses  and  the  wives  of  the  nobles  and 
the  diplomatic  staffs  joined  freely.  They  prepared 
bandages  for  the  front,  meeting  a  certain  number  of 
afternoons  each  week  to  roll  them. 

Through  the  instrumentality  of  the  Red  Cross  Soci- 
ety packages  were  forwarded  to  the  soldiers  in  the 
field,  and  it  endeared  itself  to  the  nation  by  also  for- 

138 


CARE   OF   THE   WOUNDED   AND   SICK 

warding  postal  cards  and  other  messages  which  it  in- 
duced children  to  write  to  the  soldier  boys  at  the  front. 
The  two  Eed  Cross  Hospital  Ships,  to  which  refer- 
ence has  already  been  made,  were  now  ready  at  Dalney 
to  assist  in  conveying  the  invalid  soldiers  to  the  reserve 
hospitals  at  home.  They  were,  naturally,  only  able  to 
take  a  portion  of  the  wounded,  but  the  Army  had  soon 
provided  no  less  than  twenty-two  ships  of  its  own  for 
that  special  purpose.  They  were  going  and  coming 
constantly.  The  journey  to  Japan  was  over  what 
might  be  called  a  trunk  line  from  Dalney  to  Ujina, 
the  port  of  Hiroshima,  a  short  voyage  of  three  to 
four  days.  The  Army  Hospital  Ships  were  not  so 
thoroughly  equipped  as  the  Ked  Cross  ships,  but  the 
trip  was  of  such  short  duration  that  in  view  of  the 
special  preparations  made  for  the  patients  they  had 
few  discomforts.  Having  undergone  the  hardships  of 
a  more  or  less  tedious  railway  journey,  mostly  in  open 
cars,  the  sea  journey  was  comparatively  a  delightful 
rest.  The  thought  of  going  home  had  a  profound  in- 
fluence on  the  soldier's  mind,  a  factor  on  which  the 
government  probably  counted  when  stowing  the  men 
away  rather  closely  in  bunks.  For  a  long  voyage,  like 
the  one  that  many  of  the  British  troops  made  from 
Cape  Town  in  the  Boer  War,  the  close  packing  would 
have  been  detrimental,  but  the  Japanese  authorities 
said  they  had  found  no  bad  results  from  it,  When 
the  Army  Hospital  Ships  proved  insufficient  to  carry 
to  Japan  all  that  were  ready  to  be  sent,  transports  were 

139 


THE    REAL    TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 

sometimes  pressed  into  service.  At  any  rate,  there 
never  was  a  lack  of  ships  in  Dalney  harbour  for  the 
transportation  of  the  sick  and  wounded,  and  that  duty 
was  never  neglected  by  the  government.  Nothing  was 
allowed  to  interfere  with  the  necessity  of  getting  the 
sick  and  wounded  home.  It  is  a  remarkable  fact,  how- 
ever, that  fully  ten  thousand  of  the  patients  sent  to 
Dalney  for  transportation  home  recovered  there  and 
returned  directly  to  the  colours.  The  soldiers,  much 
as  they  longed  to  see  Japan  and  their  people,  preferred 
going  back  to  the  front,  to  die,  if  necessary,  for  their 
Emperor  and  for  their  country. 

Exactly  how  many  ship-loads  of  the  patients  were 
sent  from  Dalney  to  the  other  great  distributing- 
places  in  Japan  —  Kobe,  Matsuyama  and  Osaka  — 
the  authorities  would  not  reveal.  They  simply  said: 
"  There  were  many."  To  put  on  board  250  patients, 
which  was  about  the  average  for  each  journey,  re- 
quired a  little  more  than  half  an  hour,  and  in  carry- 
ing them  on  board  the  Japanese  used  the  same  meth- 
ods as  in  loading  any  other  kind  of  transport.  They 
formed  a  line  of  men,  set  a  time  for  starting  the  work, 
and  the  procession  of  litter-bearers  moved,  placing  each 
man  in  his  assigned  place  and  marching  off  the  boat 
without  confusion.  Many  a  hospital  ship  has  been 
under  way  in  less  than  an  hour  from  the  time  the 
first  patient  was  carried  on  board.  What  a  contrast 
to  the  methods  of  loading  a  transport  with  sick  in  the 
Spanish- American  war !  Days  were  often  consumed  in 

140 


CARE   OF  THE   WOUNDED   AND    SICK 

such  work.  System  was  lacking,  and  many  a  poor 
fellow  went  to  his  long  home  by  reason  of  unnecessary 
delay.  Secretary  Eoot  of  the  United  States  War  De- 
partment, in  a  memorandum  issued  January  10,  1904, 
referred  to  the  "  sacrifice  of  many  thousands  of  valu- 
able lives "  because  of  the  lack  of  proper  Army  Med- 
ical Service.  Well  was  that  deplorable  lack  illustrated 
in  the  methods  of  caring  for  the  wounded  and  sick  on 
transports.  In  comparison,  it  was  a  genuine  pleasure 
to  see  the  systematized  action  and  the  consequent 
rapidity  and  ease  with  which  the  hospital  ships  at  Dal- 
ney  were  loaded  and  the  promptness  with  which  the 
ships  took  their  departure. 

"  We  have  the  most  precious  cargo  here  that  the 
world  can  imagine.  We  must  hurry  home  with  all 
speed,  so  that  not  one  of  its  parts  may  suffer  the  least 
damage  on  the  way.  Give  us  free  road.  Here  come 
the  nation's  greatest  treasures,  the  sick  and  the 
wounded." 

Such  were  the  sentiments  expressed  by  every  one 
who  was  in  the  smallest  way  connected  with  the  task 
of  seeing  the  invalided  soldiers  home. 

The  same  system  of  prompt  attention  characterized 
the  unloading  of  the  patients  at  Ujina.  The  stay  of 
the  men  at  Hiroshima  was  made  as  short  as  possible; 
comfortable  hospital  trains  were  made  up  and  the  men 
were  forwarded  by  branch  lines  to  the  various  reserve 
hospitals  throughout  the  empire.  All  along  the  route 
the  people  would  come  out  to  bring  refreshments  and 

141 


THE    REAL    TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 

flowers,  and  here  it  was  that  the  titled  ladies,  like  the 
Marchioness  Oyama,  greeted  the  soldiers  at  the  rail- 
road station.  Those  who  were  bound  for  home  were 
usually  taken  to  rooms  over  the  Nobles'  Bank,  and 
"  fixed  up  "  neatly,  the  stains  of  travel  being  removed 
before  they  were  sent  to  see  their  relatives.  Many  of 
the  convalescents  were  sent  to  the  hot  springs  and 
mountain  resorts,  where  every  possible  means  was 
employed  to  restore  them  to  health. 

This  superb  system  of  care  and  thought  had  to 
chronicle  as  its  greatest  triumph  the  return  of  no  less 
than  forty  thousand  of  the  sick  and  wounded  to  the 
front,  again  to  face  the  enemy  and  to  assert  their  loy- 
alty to  Emperor  and  country. 

An  old  French  saying  reads :  — 

"  Attendance  upon  the  sick  or  wounded  soldier  IB 
a  debt  which  every  patriot  owes  to  his  country." 

Japan  has  one  impulse  that  outshines  all  others  in 
time  of  war.  It  is  that  of  patriotism.  Need  any  one 
wonder,  then,  at  the  care  she  has  taken,  and  is  taking, 
of  her  sick  and  wounded,  and  that  she  considers  it  a 
duty  of  the  loftiest  character! 


142 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

ARMY   HYGIENE  —  THE   SYSTEM 

WITH  his  military  training  the  Japanese  re- 
cruit is  inculcated  with  the  idea  that  his 
health  is  of  prime  importance.  He  is  taught 
not  only  to  respect,  but  to  implicitly  obey  the  surgeon. 
He  is  instructed  that  his  body  is  a  fighting  machine 
which  is  the  property  of  his  Emperor;  that  he  is 
but  one  element  in  a  great  organization,  the  army, 
composed  of  the  Emperor's  children,  and  that  it  is 
the  function  of  this  organization  to  uphold  and  pro- 
tect the  Emperor  and  his  people.  He  is  imbued 
with  the  idea  that  it  is  just  as  necessary  to  main- 
tain his  body  in  the  best  physical  condition  as  to  keep 
his  rifle  in  a  state  of  efficiency;  that  to  permit  either 
to  become  impaired  through  his  own  carelessness  or 
misconduct  is  to  injure  the  organization  of  which  he 
is  a  part,  and  constitutes  an  act  of  disloyalty  to  his 
Emperor. 

The  sense  of  filial  duty  to  the  Emperor  has  been 
well  expressed,  as  follows,  by  Dr.  Nagao  Ariga,  Pro- 
fessor of  International  Law  in  the  Military  and  Naval 
Academies  of  Japan,  and  one  of  the  most  distinguished 

143 


THE    REAL    TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 

members  of  the  splendid  Red  Cross  organization  of  that 
country :  — 

"In  Japan  the  Emperor  is  the  personal  leader  of 
the  nation  in  arms,  and  the  soldiers  are  his  soldiers, 
not  in  theory  only,  but  by  the  fact  of  historical  tra- 
dition. Hence  the  nation  which  loves  and  respects 
the  Emperor,  literally  as  children  do  their  fathers, 
naturally  loves  the  soldiers  whom  the  Emperor  cher- 
ishes, and,  does  everything  in  its  power  to  help  them. 
We  owe  to  the  Emperor  the  independence  and  pros- 
perity of  the  empire,  which  he  maintains  by  means  of 
his  soldiers,  and  the  best  means  of  paying  back  this 
immeasurable  debt  is  to  give  aid  to  his  soldiers  while 
risking  their  lives  on  the  field  of  battle." 

The  recruit,  early  in  his  military  career,  recognizes 
the  importance  of  the  surgeon  in  looking  after  his 
welfare,  and  respects  and  appreciates  him  accordingly; 
the  officers  likewise  hold  him  in  the  highest  esteem 
and  render  him  the  respect  and  courtesies  due  to  his 
rank  and  professional  attainments.  The  Japanese 
conception  of  the  medical  officer's  duties  and  responsi- 
bilities is  not  that  which  prevails  so  notably  in  our 
army  and  some  of  the  European  armies,  viz. :  that 
the  chief  function  of  the  medical  officer  is  to  care 
for  the  sick  and  wounded.  In  the  field  of  prevention 
lies  his  most  imperative  duty  —  the  responsibility  of 
maintaining  the  army  in  a  state  of  efficiency. 

Not  only  is  the  status  of  the  surgeon  as  a  military 
factor  recognized  by  the  rank  conferred  upon  him, 

144 


ARMY    HYGIENE  — THE    SYSTEM 

but  what  is  of  greater  importance  is  the  authority  con- 
ferred upon  him  in  all  matters  affecting  the  health 
of  the  troops.  By  this  it  is  not  intended  to  convey 
the  idea  that  the  medical  officer  exercises  command, 
except  of  course  in  his  own  department,  but  his  dicta 
and  opinions  on  matters  affecting  the  health  of  the 
troops  are  never  questioned,  and  his  recommendations 
are  rigidly  enforced.  It  is  not  an  exaggeration  to  say 
that  he  is  practically  in  complete  control  upon  all 
matters  pertaining  to  hygiene  and  sanitation. 

The  duties  of  the  medical  officer  of  the  Japanese 
army  may  be  set  down  under  three  heads:  the  selec- 
tion of  the  recruit  by  physical  examination,  the  pres- 
ervation of  his  health  after  enlistment,  and  his  care 
when  he  becomes  sick  or  wounded.  A  resume  of  the 
responsibilities  under  the  second  head  may  not  be 
amiss  at  this  juncture. 

The  military  medical  officer  is  called  upon  by  this 
system  to  have  the  knowledge  and  care  of  practically 
everything  connected  with  the  life  of  the  soldier  ex- 
cept his  strictly  military  duties,  and  includes  a  con- 
sideration of  his  clothing,  food,  water,  shelter,  habits 
and  amusements. 

The  medical  officer  should  possess  a  knowledge  of 
the  protection  afforded  by  different  textile  fabrics  with 
which  the  soldier  is  clothed  and  their  adaptability  to 
the  climate  in  which  he  is  serving.  He  should  be  able 
to  determine  whether  any  articles  of  clothing  or  equip- 
ment, through  faulty  construction  or  material,  is  lia- 

145 


THE    REAL    TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 

ble  to  incapacitate  him.  He  should  be  well  versed  in 
the  physiology  of  nutrition,  the  value  of  foods,  both 
as  nutritives  and  as  producers  of  heat  and  energy;  the 
quantities  of  the  proximate  principles  necessary  to 
maintain  health;  the  digestibility  of  different  articles 
of  diet;  he  must  also  be  able  to  supervise  the  cooking 
and  preparation  of  the  ration  and  to  suggest  methods 
for  its  preservation  under  varied  conditions;  often, 
too,  he  is  called  upon  to  express  his  opinion  as  to 
whether  the  food  supplies  furnished  are  fit  for  con- 
sumption; and,  at  times,  he  may  be  required  to  make 
chemical,  bacteriological  and  microscopic  examinations 
of  such  supplies. 

So,  too,  with  reference  to  the  water-supply,  must 
his  knowledge  be  varied  and  extensive.  The  question 
of  sufficient  supply,  its  source,  character,  its  liability 
to  contamination,  and  methods  to  be  adopted  to  pre- 
vent its  contamination;  methods  of  purification  —  all 
come  within  his  special  province.  He  must  be  com- 
petent to  determine  by  chemical  or  bacteriological  ex- 
amination the  materials  or  organisms  present  which 
may  produce  disease  and  to  suggest  the  means  for 
their  removal  and  destruction. 

Closely  connected  with  the  problem  of  water-supply 
is  that  of  the  disposal  of  excreta  and  refuse,  and  the 
prevention  of  soil  pollution;  the  necessity  of  the  med- 
ical officer's  attention  to  this  problem  is  obvious  and, 
needs  no  further  comment. 

In  the  selection  of  camp  sites  the  medical  officer 
146 


ARMY    HYGIENE  — THE    SYSTEM 

must  be  able  to  appreciate  the  local  conditions  which 
may  become  factors  in  the  production  of  disease,  or  the 
absence  of  which  may  tend  to  the  maintenance  of 
health.  Such  problems  include  a  consideration  of  the 
exposure  of  the  site  to  sun  and  winds;  the  character 
of  the  soil;  its  ground  water;  the  presence  or  absence 
of  disease-carrying  insects.  When  the  exigencies  of 
the  military  situation  forbid  the  selection  of  a  salu- 
brious site,  the  surgeon's  energies  must  be  directed 
towards  minimizing  the  danger  which  threatens  from 
unhygienic  conditions.  In  barracks  and  other  perma- 
nent stations  additional  problems,  such  as  heating  and 
ventilation,  air  and  floor  space,  lighting  of  dormitories, 
construction  of  hospitals  and  quarters,  are  matters  for 
his  consideration  and  action.  Such  problems  require 
familiarity  with  the  laws  of  physics,  building  construc- 
tion and  chemistry. 

The  habits  of  the  soldier  may  at  times  also  become 
the  concern  of  the  medical  officer,  and  then  it  is  incum- 
bent upon  him  to  suggest  the  means  to  combat  them. 
The  soldier's  life  is  often  monotonous  and  depressing. 
That  such  depression  may  seriously  affect  the  health 
of  an  army  is  well  known,  and  under  those  circum- 
stances it  becomes  the  duty  of  the  surgeon  to  recom- 
mend the  institution  of  sports  and  amusements.  In 
fact,  everything  which  tends  to  the  maintenance  of  the 
physical  and  moral  welfare  of  the  soldier  comes  within 
the  province  of  the  military  medical  officer.  Further- 
more, it  is  demanded  of  him  that  he  be  well  grounded 
11  147 


THE    REAL    TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 

and  experienced  in  the  practice  of  medicine  and  sur- 
gery in  their  various  branches:  he  is  at  once  a  sani- 
tary expert,  a  general  practitioner,  a  surgeon,  a  special- 
ist in  various  diseases,  sometimes  a  chemist,  a  micro- 
scopist,  an  X-ray  operator,  and  so  far  as  insects  are 
concerned  in  the  propagation  of  diseases,  something 
of  an  entomologist. 

The  population  of  Japan  is  small  as  compared  to 
the  requirements  of  its  army  during  the  recent  war 
with  Russia,  and  it  thus  became  necessary  to  conscript 
many  men  who  would  ordinarily  be  rejected  under  the 
more  stringent  regulations  of  other  armies  regarding 
military  service.  Certain  physical  defects  were  waived, 
as  for  instance  errors  of  refraction.  One  saw  many  of 
her  soldiers  wearing  glasses,  who  were  accepted  in 
spite  of  their  defect  and  were  ordered  by  the  surgeon 
to  wear  them.  Many  were  accepted  with  other  phys- 
ical defects,  which  did  not  unfit  them  from  performing 
certain  duties.  It  should  not  be  understood,  however, 
that  weaklings  who  were  liable  to  succumb  to  the  hard- 
ships of  a  campaign  were  accepted;  indeed,  many  a 
young  man  has  returned  to  his  home,  feeling  himself 
eternally  disgraced  because  of  his  rejection  for  a  de- 
fect which,  though  slight,  might  in  the  future  incapac- 
itate him. 

The  Japanese  government  has  fully  recognized  the 
importance  and  value  of  the  application  of  hygienic 
principles  to  its  military  service,  and  in  order  to 
accomplish  the  best  results  has  been  for  years  educat- 

148 


ARMY    HYGIENE  — THE    SYSTEM 

ing  her  military  medical  men  in  this  direction.  The 
sanitary  lessons  learned  in  her  war  with  China  ex- 
cited her  serious  apprehensions,  and  soon  thereafter 
military  surgeons  were  sent  abroad  to  study  the  methods 
of  foreign  armies.  During  the  Boxer  uprising  in 
China,  in  1900,  investigations  were  made  by  her  med- 
ical officers  into  the  various  methods  employed  by  the 
allied  forces.  From  these  investigations  and  studies 
Japan  perfected  its  system.  Military  and  naval  med- 
ical officers  were  obliged  to  take  special  courses  in 
hygiene  and  sanitation  at  their  respective  military  and 
naval  medical  schools,  and  the  study  of  hygiene  was 
made  compulsory  in  the  military  and  naval  academies. 
The  young  officers  were  thus  brought  to  realize  its  im- 
portance and  appreciate  its  necessity.  The  system  of 
national  sanitation  has  diffused  a  general  knowledge 
upon  the  subject,  with  the  result  that  the  physician 
from  civil  life  and  the  older  officer  who  had  had  no 
special  training  in  the  subject  are  now  more  or  less 
familiar  with  it.  It  follows,  therefore,  that  every  of- 
ficer in  the  Japanese  Army  not  only  understands  the 
principles  involved  but  realizes  the  necessity  for  their 
application. 

We  now  come  to  the  consideration  of  this  question 
in  connection  with  the  soldier  in  the  ranks,  and  here 
is  disclosed  the  chief  method  by  which  their  success 
in  the  prevention  of  disease  is  achieved.  This  consists 
in  the  systematic  instruction  given  in  elementary  hy- 


149 


THE    REAL    TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 

giene  as  well  as  first  aid  by  the  medical  officer  to  every 
soldier  who  is  enrolled  in  the  army. 

It  is  the  constant  care  of  the  surgeon  to  impress 
upon  them  the  necessity  of  maintaining  their  health 
and  the  means  by  which  this  is  to  be  accomplished.  In 
addition  to  the  instructions  imparted,  each  soldier  is 
issued  a  small  "  handbook "  which  treats  of  infec- 
tious diseases,  sunstrokes,  frost-bite  and  other  injuries; 
how  these  are  to  be  avoided  and  what  to  do  when  they 
occur;  of  sanitation  on  the  march  and  in  the  camp, 
and  what  articles  of  food  and  drink  should  be  shunned. 
Handbooks  of  instruction  are  also  issued  to  all  who 
are  in  any  way  connected  with  the  medical  service, 
different  handbooks  being  provided  for  those  detailed 
to  different  duties.  So,  too,  with  reference  to  military 
and  auxiliary  nurses,  hospital  stewards,  orderlies, 
apothecaries  and  members  of  the  Ambulance  Corps. 

There  is  no  phase  of  caring  for  the  sick  or  wounded 
that  is  neglected  in  these  pamphlets,  and  no  means  of 
preserving  the  health  of  the  troops  is  overlooked.  In 
the  spring  of  1905,  special  books  were  issued  to  the 
troops  on  the  dangers  of  cholera  and  plague  and  the 
best  means  to  avoid  those  diseases. 

If  there  is  one  hygienic  rule  that  stands  out  clearer 
than  any  other,  it  is  that  the  soldier  shall  never  drink 
water  that  has  not  been  boiled,  and  to  make  sure  that 
he  complies  with  this  instruction  the  commissariat  pro- 
vides boiled  water  liberally  and  constantly.  Every 
battalion  had  its  outfit  for  boiling  water.  Every  sta- 

150 


M 


3  -g 

cq   j* 


ARMY    HYGIENE  — THE    SYSTEM 

tion  along  the  line  of  communications  had  its  kettles 
for  this  purpose  which  were  kept  steaming  constantly. 
One  of  the  commonest  sights,  in  going  to  the  front, 
was  to  see  a  train-load  of  soldiers  at  the  stations  filling 
their  canteens  and  drinking  the  boiling  water,  the 
soldiers  having  learned  to  prefer  hot  water  to  cold. 

That  custom  of  drinking  boiled  water  was  adopted 
by  the  attaches  and  war  correspondents.  One  of  the 
attaches,  Captain  Hoffmann  of  the  German  Army,  told 
me  that  in  fourteen  months  at  the  front  he  drank  un- 
boiled water  only  twice,  once  during  the  battle  of 
Mukden,  when  he  seemed  choking  from  thirst,  and 
once  from  a  clear  mountain  stream  far  from  any 
sources  of  possible  taint.  The  death  of  an  interpreter 
from  typhoid  fever  through  drinking  unsterilized  water 
made  such  an  impression  that  correspondents  in  the 
field  were  requested  to  observe  the  orders  regarding 
drinking  water.  Even  during  engagements  lasting 
several  days,  when  it  was  almost  impossible  to  obtain 
supplies  of  food  and  when  some  of  the  foreign  attaches 
were  without  food  for  days,  thousands  suffered  from 
thirst  rather  than  violate  the  regulations  and  thus 
endanger  the  fighting  efficiency  of  the  army.  The 
manner  in  which  the  troops  observed  this  rule  during 
the  great  battle  of  Mukden  was  a  supreme  test  of  Japa- 
nese discipline.  Every  soldier  carried  his  canteen  of 
boiled  water.  When  that  was  exhausted  he  endured 
the  agony  of  thirst  until  a  fresh  supply  was  obtained. 

Every  man  bathed  before  going  into  action  and 
151 


THE    REAL    TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 

made  himself  as  near  surgically  clean  as  possible.  The 
Japanese  is  habitually  clean.  He  loves  to  bathe. 
While  in  barracks  in  Japan,  he  bathes  every  night; 
on  transports  en  route  to  Manchuria  he  had  at  least 
two  baths,  and  sometimes  more.  At  the  front,  he 
bathed  at  every  possible  opportunity.  During  the 
winter,  in  the  bitter  Manchurian  weather,  when  the 
men  lived  in  dugouts,  they  had  their  daily  bath.  The 
enormous  water-jars,  which  were  found  in  every  Chi- 
nese house,  served  as  tubs.  In  many  places  bath- 
houses were  built  close  to  the  company  dugouts,  where 
the  soldiers  literally  steamed  themselves  almost  to  the 
boiling-point.  It  was  a  common  sight  to  see  a  soldier 
dash  in  nude  state  across  the  space  between  the  bath- 
house and  his  company  dugout,  with  the  thermometer 
fifteen  or  twenty  degrees  below  zero,  and  enjoy  the 
run  in  the  heated  condition  of  his  body. 


152 


CHAPTER   IX. 

ARMY  HYGIENE  —  THE  PRACTICE 

THE  first  hygienic  precaution  taken  as  the  Japa- 
nese pushed  the  Russians  back  towards  the 
north  was  to  examine  the  water  along  the  line 
of  march  and  at  every  camping-place,  whether  it  was 
to  be  occupied  for  a  few  days  or  for  weeks.  It  was 
no  mere  perfunctory  examination  of  wells  and  streams. 
With  the  scouts  went  the  physician  or  the  expert  from 
the  Sanitary  Corps,  and  with  his  water-testing  outfit, 
one  of  which  I  was  fortunate  enough  to  secure,  the 
necessary  investigations  were  made.  As  soon  as  such 
an  investigation  was  completed  a  sign  was  put  up  on 
the  well  or  on  a  post  adjoining  the  stream  informing 
the  troops  as  to  the  uses  to  which  the  water  could  be 
put.  Those  signs  were  painted  on  boards,  as  a  rule, 
and  were  in  both  Chinese  and  Japanese  characters, 
so  that  a  person  not  familiar  with  the  one  could  read 
what  was  said  on  the  other. 

The  signs  were  of  three  kinds,  one  describing  the 
water  as  pure  and  fit  to  drink,  another  that  it  was 
unfit  to  drink  but  could  be  used  for  washing  purposes, 
and  still  another  saying  that  after  the  water  was 

153 


THE    REAL    TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 

strained  and  boiled  it  might  be  drunk  with  safety. 
Samples  of  those  signs  are  reproduced  herewith.  They 
were  written  out  for  me  by  Surgeon-Major  T.  Takai, 
in  charge  of  the  hospital  at  Tie-ling  in  June  last,  who 
proudly  exhibited  to  me  the  water-testing  kit  that  had 
been  used  many  times  with  his  detachment. 

To  show  how  thoroughly  this  water-testing  was 
done,  I  must  state  that  I  did  not  see  a  single  well 
at  or  near  the  front  in  the  Second  Army  that  was  not 
posted  with  the  wooden  placard  describing  the  uses  to 
which  the  water  could  be  put.  I  photographed  many 
of  the  wells.  Added  to  my  personal  experience  is  the 
testimony  of  several  attaches,  not  only  with  Oku's 
army  but  with  the  other  armies,  to  the  effect  that 
the  testing  of  the  water  and  the  placarding  of  the 
wells  was  not  neglected.  The  water  was  examined  for 
organic  matter,  the  presence  of  sulphides,  chlorides, 
nitrates,  and  free  and  albuminoid  ammonia.  The 
chemical  reagents  used  for  that  purpose  were  contained 
in  every  kit.  Later  in  the  campaign,  at  points  where 
the  army  was  to  halt  for  any  length  of  time,  bacterio- 
logical examinations  were  made  to  determine  the  pres- 
ence or  absence  of  the  organisms  of  typhoid  fever  and 
dysentery,  and  analyses  were  made  to  detect  the  pres- 
ence of  poisons. 

Whenever  it  was  feasible,  sanitary  inspections  were 
made  of  the  places  to  be  occupied  by  the  troops,  espe- 
cially of  the  Chinese  houses  which  had  been  previously 
occupied  by  the  Russians.  Sometimes  in  a  swift  pur- 

154 


>> 

o  „ 

g>  "tf 

1 1 


11 


155 


THE    REAL    TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 

suit  it  was  not  possible  to  examine  those  quarters  be- 
forehand. The  Japanese  surgeons  said  that  they 
almost  invariably  found  the  camps  of  the  Russians, 
which  the  Japanese  were  often  compelled  to  occupy 
for  military  reasons,  in  a  bad  sanitary  condition,  and 
that  most  of  them  were  a  source  of  positive  danger  to 
the  troops.  Indeed  the  Japanese  surgeons  were  in- 
clined to  attribute  a  large  part  of  the  infectious  dis- 
eases in  their  army  to  the  enforced  occupation  of  such 
camps  and  quarters.  While  there  may  have  been  justi- 
fication for  attributing  some  of  those  cases  to  the 
Russian  occupation,  the  fact  that  at  the  earliest  op- 
portunity the  Japanese  either  cleaned  the  camps  or 
moved  their  men  out  of  them  would  indicate  that  the 
infectious  diseases  from  which  their  men  suffered  arose 
in  a  large  part  from  other  causes. 

Let  us  now  review  the  practical  observance  of  hy- 
gienic principles  in  the  field  on  the  part  of  the  soldier. 
He  carried  his  rifle  and  supply  of  ammunition,  of 
course,  on  his  shoulders  his  knapsack,  the  catch-all, 
the  catch  all  of  his  baggage,  and  dangling  therefrom 
his  mess  tin,  filled  with  rice,  and  his  aluminum  water- 
bottle  filled  with  boiled  water.  Strapped  over  his 
knapsack  was  his  blanket  and  at  the  sides  were  usually 
an  extra  pair  of  shoes  and  a  little  spade  with  which 
to  dig  entrenchments.  He  also  carried  two  little  sacks, 
one  containing  two  needles,  a  pair  of  scissors,  a  comb, 
tooth-brush  (a  Japanese  soldier  would  almost  prefer 
to  go  without  his  shoes  than  his  tooth-brush)  and  a 

156 


ARMY    HYGIENE  — THE    PRACTICE 

skein  of  stout  thread.  This  case  was  carried  in  the 
knapsack  along  with  a  small  rubber  sheet,  which  con- 
stituted one-sixth  of  a  tent  for  six  soldiers  and  which 
was  used  in  bivouac.  The  second  sack,  a  small  brown 
canvas  bag,  contained  an  extra  supply  of  undercloth- 
ing. The  weight  of  equipment  was  made  as  light  as 
possible,  but  even  then  on  a  hot  march  it  made  the 
soldier  weary  to  carry  all  this,  and  sometimes  he  suf- 
fered acutely  from  thirst.  The  temptation  to  drink 
water  from  streams  or  to  eat  fruits  along  the  road 
was  very  great,  but  the  soldier  bore  in  mind  that  his 
body  belonged  to  the  Emperor  and  he  obeyed  his  or- 
ders and  endured  the  discomforts. 

Here  is  a  specific  instance  of  the  respect  entertained 
for  the  surgeon's  orders  and  of  the  method  by  which 
those  orders  were  made  effective.  One  hot  day  in 
July,  1904,  after  the  battle  of  Kin-chau,  Oku's  men 
were  marching  north  through  a  region  that  abounded 
in  the  little  gourdlike  fruits,  which  in  that  country 
are  called  watermelons.  In  one  regiment  the  men  who 
were  attached  to  the  Medical  Corps,  privates  instructed 
especially  to  watch  out  for  the  health  of  the  troops, 
reported  that  some  of  the  men  were  suffering  from 
diarrhoea  as  the  result  of  eating  that  fruit  to  slake 
their  thirst.  At  once  the  regimental  surgeon  issued 
orders,  or  strictly  speaking,  had  them  issued  by  the 
colonel,  directing  that  under  no  circumstances  were 
the  men  to  eat  any  of  the  fruit.  The  heat  was 
stifling  and  the  men  were  staggering  along  from  ex- 

157 


THE    REAL    TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 

haustion  and  thirst,  but  not  one  of  them  touched  the 
fruit  after  these  orders  had  been  issued,  although  they 
could  have  done  so  easily;  the  physical  disorder  that 
might  have  proved  serious  was  checked  at  once. 

This  is  but  a  simple  illustration  of  the  power  of  the 
surgeon.  The  recommendations  of  the  medical  officers 
are  practically  never  overruled,  and  in  matters  of 
health  his  orders  are  promulgated  as  a  matter  of  course, 
because  it  is  recognized  as  absolutely  necessary,  if  the 
army  is  to  be  kept  at  its  full  fighting  strength,  that 
his  directions  should  be  obeyed.  What  a  contrast  to 
the  position  of  the  surgeon  in  other  armies,  especially 
the  American,  where  he  is  so  often  humiliated  by  hav- 
ing recommendations  which  he  knows  are  essential  to 
the  saving  of  lives  rudely  tossed  aside  by  some  over- 
bearing line  officer  who  presumes  to  know  more  of 
health  requirements  of  the  troops  than  the  surgeon, 
and  who,  by  this  display  of  costly  ignorance,  is  fre- 
quently responsible  for  the  deaths  of  many  innocent 
victims ! 

The  Japanese  army  surgeon  made  examinations  of 
the  sanitary  conditions  of  the  camping-places,  he  in- 
spected the  men  constantly,  and  in  addition  he  had 
reports  from  his  assistants  who  were  constantly  on  the 
watch  for  trifling  symptoms  of  ill-health  among  the 
troops.  He  drew  up  orders  to  suit  the  conditions  of 
the  day,  relative  to  food,  water,  clothing,  etc.,  and  at 
every  noon  he  forwarded  them  to  the  adjutant  of  the 
regiment  for  the  colonel  to  sign  and  publish  or  to 

158 


ARMY    HYGIENE  — THE    PRACTICE 

reject.     As  a  matter  of  fact  they  were  rarely  if  ever 
rejected. 

If  such  an  order  had  been  rejected,  what  would  have 
happened?  The  surgeon,  if  he  had  regarded  his  order 
as  of  vital  importance,  would  have  reported  the  facts 
in  the  case  at  once  to  his  superior  medical  officer.  The 
complaint  would  then  have  been  carried  to  the  chief 
medical  officer  of  the  army  in  which  the  act  complained 
of  took  place,  and  he,  in  turn,  would  have  submitted 
the  matter  to  the  general  in  command.  The  result 
would  have  been  that  the  line  officer  would  have  been 
called  strictly  to  account,  all  the  more  so,  if  in  the 
meantime  the  health  of  the  soldiers  had  suffered  in 
the  slightest,  and,  as  the  Japanese  army  officers  say, 
"he  would  be  punished."  What  that  punishment 
might  have  been  I  am  unable  to  say,  for  I  could  find 
no  trace  of  a  single  instance  where  a  surgeon  had  been 
overruled,  or  where  any  such  case  was  reported  to 
higher  authority.  The  least  punishment,  of  course, 
would  have  been  a  reprimand,  something  that  would 
have  so  reflected  upon  the  honour  and  intelligence  of 
a  Japanese  commanding  officer  that  it  is  doubtful  if 
he  could  have  lived  under  it.  It  will  thus  be  seen 
that  the  medical  officer  in  the  Japanese  army  was  not 
only  respected  to  an  extent  that  does  not  prevail  in 
any  other  army  in  the  world,  but  that  he  invariably 
met  with  the  support  of  his  superior  officer,  and  in 
this  way  full  responsibility  for  the  health  conditions 
of  his  command  rested  upon  him.  If  the  ration  proved 

159 


THE  REAL  TRIUMPH  OF  JAPAN 

defective  then  he  took  steps  to  have  it  changed. 
If  he  found  a  camp  in  a  bad  condition  he  had  the 
condition  or  the  camp  changed.  His  opinion,  as  to 
water,  clothing,  camps,  anything  in  fact  that  might 
have  affected  the  health  of  the  soldiers,  was  accepted 
without  question  and  there  was  practically  none  to  say 
him  nay.  The  superb  condition  of  the  Japanese  soldier 
fully  vindicated  the  system. 

In  this  connection  I  recall  a  conversation  I  had 
with  Grand  Marshal  Oyama  at  his  headquarters  at 
Mukden,  early  in  June  last.  I  congratulated  him  on 
the  health  of  the  troops  and  said  that  Japan  had 
taught  the  other  nations  a  great  lesson  in  the  prac- 
tice of  military  hygiene.  The  Marshal  said  he  was 
sorry  that  Japan  had  not  even  better  results  to  show, 
and  added  modestly  that  it  was  perhaps  good  fortune 
that  the  army  had  escaped  epidemics  like  those  which 
weakened  it  so  in  the  war  with  China,  ten  years  before. 
He  thought  it  wonderful  that  the  army  had  escaped 
epidemics,  considering  the  unsanitary  condition  of  the 
towns  evacuated  by  Russians,  and  said  it  seemed  like 
inviting  epidemics  to  live  in  some  of  those  places. 

He  expressed  surprise  that  the  Chinese  did  not 
suffer  more  from  epidemics  than  they  did.  He  thought 
that  one  reason  was  that  they  never  ate  raw  food,  in 
contrast  to  the  raw  food  eating  propensities  of  the 
Japanese,  especially  in  the  matter  of  fish,  and  also, 
that  they  drank  so  much  tea,  which  was  practically 
sterilized  water  flavoured  with  a  pleasing  extract.  He 

160 


ARMY    HYGIENE  — THE    PRACTICE 

thought  that  because  of  these  reasons  they  escaped 
many  inflammations  of  the  intestinal  tract,  a  matter 
in  which  he  found  very  ready  acquiescence  from  his 
caller.  To  the  suggestion  that  the  simple  food  of  the 
Chinese  also  had  a  large  influence  in  preserving  health, 
the  Marshal  said  he  believed  that  that  was  potent  in 
preventing  epidemics. 

The  power  of  the  Japanese  army  surgeon  having 
been  made  clear,  one  is  now  ready  to  see  how  it  was 
manifested  in  another  direction,  namely,  in  the  cleans- 
ing of  towns  and  cities  which  they  were  to  occupy  for 
more  than  twenty-four  hours.  In  every  such  place  it 
was  the  custom  to  make  a  special  sanitary  examination 
of  every  building  in  the  town,  to  clean  those  which 
were  simply  dirty,  and  to  close  or  destroy  those  which 
were  a  direct  menace  to  health.  In  every  little  village 
one  of  the  first  things  done  was  to  dig  ditches  in  what 
would  be  the  gutters  of  our  streets  at  home,  so  as  to 
allow  the  dirty  water  to  run  off.  All  night-soil  was 
carefully  collected  and  disposed  of.  Constant  inspec- 
tions were  made  and  Japanese  occupation  of  any  city 
soon  meant  an  improved  sanitary  condition  of  the  place. 

A  good  example  of  this  was  the  city  of  Liaoyang, 
which  we  visited  in  June  last.  The  city  scarcely  fills 
the  great  territory  included  within  its  walls,  but  it  was 
crowded  in  the  southern  half.  There  was  not  a  foul 
odour  to  be  detected  anywhere,  so  far  as  we  could  dis- 
cover in  a  walk  through  many  streets.  The  streets 
were  all  provided  with  gutter  ditches.  At  the  inter- 

161 


THE    REAL    TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 

section  of  the  two  principal  streets  of  the  city  we  saw 
prohably  what  no  other  city  in  China  ever  possessed  — 
a  modern  public  comfort  station  in  a  sanitary  condi- 
tion that  simply  could  not  be  improved.  Even  the 
city  jail  seemed  to  catch  something  of  the  spirit  of 
the  times,  and  it,  too,  was  in  good  condition,  something 
rarely  found  in  China. 

It  was  in  this  jail  that  we  witnessed  one  of  the  most 
unusual  sights  of  all  China.  It  was  a  common  say- 
ing among  the  Japanese  in  Manchuria  that  a  China- 
man never  has  but'  three  baths  in  his  entire  existence. 
One  when  he  is  born,  the  second  when  he  marries, 
and  the  third  when  he  dies.  What  was  our  astonish- 
ment to  see,  therefore,  and  in  a  jail  of  all  places,  a 
large  porcelain  bathtub.  The  tub  was  filled  with  water 
and  in  it,  not  one  Chinaman,  but  two  were  actually 
taking  a  bath.  It  is  said  that  next  to  being  beheaded 
a  Chinaman  in  that  region  dreads  a  bath,  but  there 
there  were  two  of  them  bathing  and  enjoying  it.  Truly 
the  spirit  of  Japanese  cleanliness  had  spread  amaz- 
ingly for  such  things  to  come  to  pass.  Our  only  re- 
gret was  that  we  could  not  secure  a  photograph  so  that 
we  might  present  to  others  an  ocular  demonstration 
of  what  to  us  was  almost  an  incomprehensible  spec- 
tacle. 

Liaoyang  was  not  an  exception  in  this  sanitary  work. 
In  Mukden,  at  the  time  of  both  my  visits,  thousands 
of  coolies  were  being  employed  in  cleaning  the  town  in 
a  manner  similar  to  that  of  Liaoyang.  But  in  one 

162 


ARMY    HYGIENE  — THE    PRACTICE 

respect  it  was  questionable  if  a  certain  procedure  was 
altogether  wise.  Like  all  Chinese  cities,  Mukden  was 
infected  with  mean-looking  dogs  of  decidedly  wolfish 
aspect.  They  and  the  hogs  were  the  scavengers  of  the 
town,  and  they  served  a  most  useful  purpose,  too. 
There  had  been  indications  of  rabies  in  some  of  the 
dogs,  and  forthwith  the  order  was  given  to  the  soldiers 
to  kill  them.  If  this  order  had  been  carried  out  with 
discretion  the  Chinese  residents  perhaps  would  have 
had  little  to  complain  of,  but  they  were  aroused  to  a 
feeling  of  great  resentment  when  compounds  were  en- 
tered and  pet  dogs  were  slaughtered  ruthlessly,  while 
some  mangy  specimens  in  the  streets  were  allowed  to 
escape.  Moreover  the  manner  of  killing  the  dogs  was 
objectionable.  The  soldiers  engaged  in  this  work  used 
clubs,  as  a  rule,  and  they  were  justly  censurable  to  the 
charge  of  brutality  in  some  of  their  acts.  Repeatedly, 
people  fled  to  escape  the  howls  of  the  victims,  as  they 
were  being  killed  by  inches.  The  motive  for  this  act 
was  not  open  to  question,  namely,  the  prevention  of 
the  spread  of  hydrophobia,  but  the  wisdom  of  the 
methods  employed  was  questionable. 

That  purifying  of  cities  by  the  Japanese  began  at 
the  outset  of  the  campaign.  The  following  is  a  trans- 
lation of  a  part  of  an  order  issued  in  Kuroki's  army 
on  May  26,  1904,  relative  to  the  cleaning  up  of  Feng- 
wang-cheng.  That  order,  after  describing  the  boun- 
daries of  the  three  sanitary  districts  into  which  the  place 
was  divided,  said :  — 

!2  163 


THE    REAL    TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 

STREET   CLEANING 

Rules  of  the  general  cleaning  are  to  be  as  follows  :  — 

That  the  roads  shall  be  repaired,  and,  according  to  the  situation 
of  the  roads,  open  or  closed  gutters  shall  be  made. 

That  waste  water  of  the  barracks  shall  be  connected  in  such  a 
•way  as  to  join  the  town  gutters. 

That  the  refuse  of  the  military  districts  shall  be  burned  by  each 
of  the  sanitary  corps  at  the  most  convenient  place  and  that  the 
refuse  that  is  not  combustible  shall  be  carried  away  to  an  assigned 
place. 

That  the  stables  owned  by  the  natives  shall  be  repaired  and 
thoroughly  cleaned. 

WELLS 

That  stone  or  bricks  should  be  used  to  build  up  the  wells,  so 
that  there  shall  be  no  danger  of  impure  water  flowing  in,  and  that 
for  draining  purposes,  bricks  or  tiles  be  placed  around  the  wells. 

FOOD 

Foodstuffs  that  are  sold  by  the  Japanese  or  Chinese  must  be 
examined  by  the  sanitary  authorities  and  those  that  are  not  so 
examined  are  forbidden  to  be  sold. 

Articles  sold  publicly  must  have  coverings  to  protect  them 
from  flies. 

MISCELLANEOUS 

Encouragement  shall  be  given  to  Japanese  as  well  as  Chinese 
to  open  bath-houses. 

Barber  shops  shall  be  controlled  strictly. 

An  endeavour  shall  be  made  to  prevent  Japanese  people  from 
living  in  the  same  houses  with  dirty  natives. 

Slaughter-houses  shall  be  built  and  the  Japanese  and  Chinese 
shall  not  slaughter  animals  except  in  places  assigned  to  them. 

As  an  additional  sanitary  precaution  the  Japanese 
surgeons  were  directed  to  treat,  free  of  charge,  all  sick 
found  in  the  territory  held  hy  them.  In  consequence, 

164 


ARMY    HYGIENE  — THE    PRACTICE 

thousands  of  natives  in  Corea  and  Manchuria  received 
free  medical  treatment,  the  Japanese  occupation  being 
really  a  great  blessing  to  those  regions.  Hundreds  came 
from  distant  places  and  some  of  the  patients  included 
Chinese  ladies  of  high  rank. 

That  free  medical  service  soon  led  to  the  establish- 
ment of  charity  hospitals  in  several  places,  among  them, 
Feng-wang-cheng,  Hai-cheng,  Liaoyang,  Dairen  (the 
Japanese  name  for  Dalney)  and  Kaiping.  At  the  time 
of  my  departure  from  the  front  it  was  planned  to 
extend  this  system  of  charity  hospitals  to  every  im- 
portant place  occupied  by  the  Japanese  troops,  the  idea 
being,  ultimately,  to  place  the  Eed  Cross  service  in 
charge  of  them  in  all  the  administrative  districts. 

The  reference  to  flies  in  the  above  quoted  order  recalls 
an  evidence  of  precaution  that  I  saw  in  a  division 
hospital  in  the  village  of  Pa-po-tong,  where  the  sick 
of  the  Fifth  Division  of  Oku's  army  were  cared  for. 
The  surgeon  in  charge  was  Major  Taniguchi,  who  did 
brilliant  work,  especially  at  the  battle  of  Mukden.  He 
had  a  righteous  hatred  of  flies. 

Had  similar  efforts  been  made  to  kill  off  these  pesti- 
lence-carriers at  Chattanooga  and  other  disease-breeding 
camps  at  home  during  our  war  with  Spain,  far  differ- 
ent might  have  been  the  sad  and  reprehensible  story  of 
the  epidemics  in  those  places.  Taniguchi  had  invented 
a  fly-trap  of  his  own,  which  was  exhibited  at  a  meeting 
of  the  Japanese  surgeons  and  adopted  for  general  use 
in  the  field.  It  resembled  an  Indian  tepee,  about  eight- 

165 


THE    REAL    TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 

een  inches  in  diameter  at  the  base,  and  consisted  of  four 
bamboo  sticks  about  two  feet  high,  tapering  to  a  little 
chimney-hole  about  three  inches  in  diameter.  The  poles 
were  covered  with  newspaper  to  about  four  inches  from 
the  bottom  of  the  little  poles.  The  chimney-top  was 
covered  with  a  white  cotton  bag  that  fell  over  on  the 
side  of  the  tepee.  A  dish  with  sugar  on  it  was  placed 
under  the  tepee,  and  when  a  crowd  of  flies  had  gathered 
something  was  done  to  frighten  them.  They  invariably 
flew  upward  in  the  big  cone.  It  was  then  deftly  re- 
moved from  the  table,  and,  with  a  quick  swinging 
motion,  the  flies  were  drawn  up  into  the  bag  at  the 
top,  which  immediately  dropped  down  and  held  them 
prisoners.  Major  Taniguchi  had  another  trap  which 
did  not  work  so  well.  It  consisted  of  an  old  condensed 
milk  can  with  a  bag  attached  to  the  bottom,  which  was 
open.  When  the  can  got  quite  full  of  flies,  as  they  fed 
on  sweets,  a  sheet  of  paper  was  pushed  over  the  top 
and  the  flies  shaken  down  into  the  bag  at  the  bottom. 
Another  sanitary  precaution  which  the  Japanese  army 
observed  strictly  was  the  burning  of  the  dead.  Military 
necessities  required  this  after  the  great  winter  battles, 
and  although  there  was  some  objection  from  religious 
feeling  at  first,  this  was  overcome  finally,  for  good  and 
sufficient  reasons,  and  the  body  of  every  soldier,  whether 
he  was  killed  or  died  in  the  field  or  at  home,  was  burned. 
The  Japanese,  however,  did  not  burn  the  bodies  of  the 
Russians.  Consideration  for  the  feelings  of  the  enemy 
dictated  that  policy. 

166 


ARMY    HYGIENE  — THE    PRACTICE 

This  chapter  would  not  be  complete  without  quota- 
tions from  the  book  of  instructions  issued  to  the  sol- 
diers, as  already  explained.  Here  are  translations  of 
some  extracts  about  infectious  diseases :  — 

Infectious  diseases  are  caused  by  poisons  getting  into  the  body 
from  the  outside,  which  can  be  prevented  by  proper  care.  These 
diseases  are  caused  by  microscopical  objects  called  germs.  In 
former  times  the  number  of  deaths  from  these  diseases  exceeded 
the  number  of  those  killed  in  battle.  Therefore  never  neglect  to 
exercise  the  utmost  caution  against  these  germs. 

The  infectious  disease  which  is  almost  always  present  with  an 
army  is  typhoid  fever.  This  is  caused  from  germs  in  food  or 
drink.  Therefore  the  first  step  in  preventing  it  is  not  to  eat  raw 
things  and  not  to  drink  unboiled  water. 

The  means  of  preventing  dysentery  and  cholera  are  almost  the 
same  as  those  for  preventing  typhoid  fever.  Unripened  fruit  is 
apt  to  produce  diarrhoea,  therefore  be  very  careful  of  that. 

Plague  generally  comes  through  injuries  to  the  skin.  There- 
fore, even  a  little  wound  should  be  examined  by  a  physician. 
Never  walk  with  bare  feet,  as  rats  and  fleas  spread  this  disease ; 
kill  them  or  drive  them  away. 

Malaria  is  spread  by  mosquitoes,  therefore  protect  yourself  from 
them  as  much  as  possible. 

As  to  general  sanitation,  the  book  said:  — 

Do  not  forget  to  keep  every  part  of  the  body  clean.  In  case 
one  cannot  take  a  bath  frequently,  rub  every  part  of  the  body 
with  a  towel  daily.  Keep  the  hair  cut  short  and  wash  the  head 
frequently.  Every  morning  brush  the  teeth  well.  Keep  the  hands 
and  feet  clean  especially.  Dirt  from  the  nails  contains  poisonous 
material,  therefore  cut  the  nails  often  and  clean  them. 

Wash  underclothing  and  stockings  often,  otherwise  there  is  no 
value  in  keeping  the  body  clean.  Keep  the  shoes  soft  and  oil 
them  frequently.  Shoes  are  the  horses  of  the  infantry,  therefore 
protect  them  as  carefully  as  riders  do  their  horses. 

167 


THE    REAL    TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 

As  to  food  and  drink  the  instructions  said :  — 

The  origin  of  strength  in  the  human  body  is  good  food.  Eat 
sufficient  and  do  not  go  hungry,  but  remember  that  too  much  eat- 
ing and  drinking  causes  ill  health.  Never  partake  of  any  dish  that 
gives  an  offensive  smell  or  an  unusual  taste.  Never  eat  any  raw 
food,  or  drink  unboiled  water,  and  never  eat  or  drink  supplies  left 
by  the  enemy.  Tea  and  coffee  are  excellent  stimulants  when  one 
is  tired,  and  so  is  tobacco. 

As  to  instructions  for  marching  the  book  said  that 
it  was  necessary  to  have  shoes  and  stockings  in  good 
order;  to  have  the  clothing  in  thorough  order  and  the 
water-bottle  filled  with  boiled  water  or  tea.  Then  it 
added : — 

On  the  march  be  careful  to  walk  with  measured  steps  from  be- 
ginning to  the  end,  and  do  not  march  with  the  face  downwards. 
When  climbing  obliquely  or  when  marching  against  the  wind  do 
not  talk  much  and  do  not  smoke. 

Always  bear  in  mind  to  become  accustomed  to  drinking  little  on 
the  march,  for  those  who  indulge  in  frequent  drinking  feel  thirst 
more  keenly. 

Never  expose  the  head  to  the  direct  sunshine.  Do  not  sleep  on 
the  damp  ground,  but  cover  it  with  straw  or  tree  branches  before 
lying  on  it. 

During  a  rest,  when  it  is  impossible  to  get  water  to  satisfy 
thirst,  keep  a  pickled  plum  in  the  mouth  or  a  leaf  or  a  straw ; 
either  will  help  to  check  the  feeling  of  thirst. 

Elaborate  instructions  were  also  given  to  prevent 
frost-bite.  The  soldiers  were  told  to  wear  double  stock- 
ings and  also  to  cover  the  shoes  with  straw.  They  were 
directed  never  to  sleep  in  a  snow  heap,  but  to  clear 
away  the  snow  and  use  it  as  an  entrenchment  to  keep 

168 


ARMY    HYGIENE  — THE    PRACTICE 

off  the  wind.  In  cold  weather  they  were  told  never  to 
drink  sake,  "because  it  cools  the  inside  of  the  body, 
although  it  gives  a  temporary  glow  to  the  skin.  It  also 
induces  sleepiness."  The  soldier  was  instructed,  also, 
always  to  change  his  stockings  when  they  got  wet,  be- 
cause, as  a  literal  translation  of  the  instructions  said, 
"  the  intrusion  of  wetness  into  shoes  is  the  cause  of 
sickness."  Then  it  quoted  a  saying  "  of  a  famous  gen- 
eral of  olden  times  "  to  the  effect  that  "  the  secret  of 
victory  is  due  to  the  feet." 

In  studying  the  system  of  hygiene  in  vogue  in  the 
Japanese  army  no  one  fact  impressed  itself  more  upon 
the  observer  than  that  of  the  care  that  was  taken  to  pro- 
vide the  soldiers  with  pure  water.  The  system  of  send- 
ing out  sanitary  experts  to  make  examinations  was 
carried  out  rigorously.  I  made  inquiries  regarding  that 
at  every  place  we  visited  in  the  field,  as  well  as  at 
headquarters  in  Tokio.  From  general  down  there  was 
almost  an  expression  of  surprise  that  such  a  question 
should  be  asked.  All  said  that  as  a  matter  of  course 
physicians  were  sent  ahead  of  the  troops  to  test  the 
water  and  to  see  that  proper  signs  were  posted.  I  re- 
member that  I  spoke  especially  of  this  in  Port  Arthur 
to  General  Ijichi,  —  General  Nogi's  chief-of -staff.  In 
answer  to  my  inquiry  if  it  was  the  rule  to  send  out 
surgeons  and  pharmacists  to  make  water  examinations, 
he  replied :  "  We  always  do  it.  It  is  our  invariable 
custom.  It  is  necessary  to  preserve  the  health  of  the 
soldiers.  It  is  an  absolute  rule  in  the  army,  and,  ex- 

169 


THE    REAL    TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 

cept  in  grave  emergencies,,  no  commanding  officer  would 
think  of  moving  into  a  new  territory  until  the  way 
had  been  prepared  for  the  army  by  making  these  in- 
vestigations. It  is  one  of  the  most  important  things 
in  the  Japanese  method  of  making  war." 

I  did  not  meet  a  commanding  officer,  from  the  com- 
mander at  Manchurian  headquarters  down  to  the 
leader  of  a  small  detachment,  who  did  not  corroborate 
the  substance  of  that  statement. 

Although  this  chapter  is  supposed  to  deal  only  with 
matters  directly  concerning  sanitation,  it  would  not  be 
complete  without  reference  to  the  canteen  in  the  Japa- 
nese army.  No  misguided  band  of  fanatical  but  well- 
meaning  women  has  succeeded  in  abolishing  the  canteen 
in  the  Japanese  army,  thereby  driving  the  enlisted  men 
to  brothels  and  groggeries,  with  their  associated  degra- 
dation and  disease.  On  the  contrary,  the  Japanese 
soldier  had  provided  for  him  a  cleanly  and  attractive 
meeting-place,  where  he  might  spend  his  spare  time 
with  his  comrades  in  wholesome  and  decent  relaxation. 
The  soldier  could  there  buy  a  limited  supply  of  liquor, 
and  many  necessities,  such  as  soap,  writing-paper, 
brushes,  canned  foods  and  milk,  needles,  thread  and 
other  necessities.  Books  and  papers  could  also  be  pur- 
chased, and  altogether  the  canteen  was  an  almost  indis- 
pensable adjunct  to  comfort  in  the  field.  I  inspected 
several  of  those  places  and  made  purchases  in  them  at 
the  very  front,  and  invariably  I  found  them  well  man- 
aged and  wholesome  institutions.  When  I  recalled  the 

170 


ARMY    HYGIENE  — THE    PRACTICE 

terrible  condition  of  affairs  due  to  the  abolition  of  the 
canteen  in  the  American  Army,  especially  in  the  pos- 
sessions beyond  the  sea,  and  the  woful  results  from 
a  medical  and  sanitary  standpoint,  I  could  but  wish 
that  every  person  having  the  welfare  of  the  American 
soldier  at  heart  could  visit  one  of  those  Japanese  army 
canteens  and  learn  a  most  desirable  lesson. 


171 


CHAPTER   X. 

POET  AKTHUR 

ON  January  2, 1905,  after  the  greatest  siege  known 
in  military  history,  which  General  Stoessel,  its 
gallant  defender,  in  a  despatch  to  the  Tzar  de- 
scribed as  "unceasing  fighting  for  the  last  eleven 
months,"  the  fortress  of  Port  Arthur  surrendered. 

The  first  questions  asked  by  the  world,  waiting 
eagerly  for  the  news  of  this  triumph  of  Japanese  arms, 
were:  "How  many  surrendered?"  and  "How  many 
were  sick  and  wounded?" 

Early  reports  stated  that  the  garrison  numbered 
about  thirty-two  thousand,  and  the  sick  and  wounded 
about  sixteen  thousand.  General  Stoessel  reported  to 
the  Eussian  war  office  on  December  28th  that  the  sick 
and  wounded  in  the  hospitals  had  reached  a  total  of 
fourteen  thousand  men,  and  added,  "about  three  hun- 
dred fresh  patients  enter  daily."  Somewhat  pathetically 
for  a  grim  warrior  he  said,  "  Our  principal  enemies 
are  the  scurvy  and  eleven-inch  shells.  Only  a  few 
persons  remain  unattacked  by  scurvy,  which  mows  down 
men,  and  spreads  despite  all  possible  measures."  Later 
it  was  learned  that  the  number  surrendered  was  more 

172 


PORT    ARTHUR 

than  forty-one  thousand,  of  whom  over  seventeen  thou- 
sand were  sick  and  wounded.  It  is  not  surprising  that 
General  Stoessel,  in  a  highly  overwrought  mental  con- 
dition, exaggerated  the  situation  when  he  said,  "  Few 
persons  remain  unattacked  by  the  scurvy ; "  neverthe- 
less scurvy  was  epidemic  in  the  entire  fortified  region, 
known  collectively  as  the  fortress  of  Port  Arthur,  and 
more  than  nine  thousand  cases  of  the  disease  were  in 
the  military  hospitals. 

Public  interest  in  the  capitulation  of  the  stronghold 
soon  changed  until  it  consisted  largely  of  a  desire  to 
know  more  of  the  details  of  the  siege  from  within  the 
fortress,  to  learn  the  amount  of  supplies  captured,  to 
watch  the  rapid  succession  of  events  in  the  disposition 
of  prisoners;  and  so  the  sick  and  wounded  were  gradu- 
ally regarded  as  mere  incidents  in  the  great  scenes  of 
slaughter  and  destruction.  Little  information  as  to 
the  condition  of  the  hospitals  and  their  inmates  was 
published  by  the  Japanese,  because  to  gather  the  de- 
tails required  time,  and  because  other  matters  of  a 
graver  character  were  pressing  upon  their  attention. 

Aside  from  the  facts  that  seventeen  thousand 
wounded  were  in  the  hospitals  and  that  scurvy  was 
epidemic,  practically  nothing  has  been  known  of  the 
exact  medical  situation  when  the  Japanese,  under  Gen- 
eral Nogi,  took  possession  of  the  fortress.  Since  the 
surrender  the  facts  have  been  collected  and  tabulated. 
But  up  to  the  beginning  of  July,  1905,  when  I  visited 
the  place  by  special  permission  of  the  Minister  of  War 

173 


THE    REAL    TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 

—  at  a  time  when  even  Japanese  army  officers  were 
not  allowed  within  the  fortress  except  on  official  busi- 
ness—  the  full  report  of  this  side  of  the  terrible  trag- 
edy of  months  had  not  reached  Tokio.  The  facts  pre- 
sented herewith  are  from  the  official  records;  and, 
while  certain  details  of  minor  importance  are  still  to 
be  made  public,  they  paint  in  vivid  colours  the  harrow- 
ing picture  of  the  sad  condition  of  the  sick  and  wounded 
when  the  Japanese  assumed  control. 

From  January  3d,  the  day  of  real  capitulation,  the 
medical  affairs  were  managed  in  a  general  way  by  a 
board  of  surgeons  from  Nogi's  leading  medical  officers. 
Colonel  Hoshino  was  placed  in  charge  of  the  hospitals 
of  the  fortress  with  full  authority.  At  once  he  took 
census  of  the  sick  and  wounded,  and  found  17,110 
persons  under  Eussian  medical  care,  this  number  em- 
bracing 6,050  wounded  and  11,105  sick.  The  sick  were 
classified  under  the  following  heads:  Scurvy,  9,093; 
dysentery,  368;  typhoid,  18;  miscellaneous,  1,626. 
Some  of  the  wounded  had  scurvy  in  addition,  and  some 
of  those  sick  with  scurvy  died  from  other  causes. 

From  the  time  the  Japanese  assumed  charge  until 
the  last  Eussian  was  sent  away  in  May  there  were  801 
deaths  of  Eussian  hospital  patients,  or  4.7  per  cent. 
These  deaths  were  classified  as  follows:  Scurvy,  510; 
dysentery,  79,  of  whom  4  had  scurvy ;  typhoid,  2 ;  un- 
classified, 3;  bronchitis,  33,  of  whom  14  had  scurvy; 
venereal  diseases,  4,  of  whom  1  had  scurvy;  diseases 
of  the  nose,  ear  and  throat,  4,  of  whom  2  had  scurvy; 

174 


COLONEL  II.   HOSHINO 
Commanding  Surgeon  at  Port  Arthur 


PORT    ARTHUR 

wounds,  118,  of  whom  13  had  scurvy;  nervous  dis- 
eases, 6,  of  whom.  3  had  scurvy;  unknown  causes,  18; 
total,  801,  of  whom  47  had  scurvy  without  its  being 
the  cause  of  death.  The  proportion  of  deaths  from 
wounds  was  1.9  per  cent. 

The  earliest  activities  of  the  Japanese  medical  of- 
ficers were  directed  toward  the  epidemic  of  scurvy. 
The  best  treatment  of  this  dread  disease  is  admittedly 
the  dietetic;  and  the  Japanese  began  at  once  to  feed 
the  afflicted  Russians  with  vegetables.  They  enjoyed 
the  satisfaction  of  seeing  the  scurvy  cases  reduced  in 
number  by  nearly  three  thousand  in  one  week,  as  a 
result  of  their  improved  dietary.  No  expedient  was 
neglected  by  which  proper  food  supplies  might  be  pro- 
cured for  the  victims  of  scorbutus.  In  fact,  so  ab- 
sorbed were  the  Japanese  in  this  work,  inspired  by  the 
loftiest  feelings  of  humanitarianism,  that  they  incurred 
expenses  which  became  matters  of  official  inquiry  by 
the  home  authorities. 

The  Japanese  next  decided  that  speedy  convalescence 
of  the  largest  number  of  patients  would  follow  the 
adoption  of  the  plan  to  leave  them,  so  far  as  was 
practical,  in  charge  of  their  own  physicians.  The  Japa- 
nese surgeons  were  instructed  to  avoid  friction  and 
to  cooperate  to  the  fullest  extent  in  every  practical 
measure  suggested  by  the  Russian  surgeons.  That 
proved  no  easy  task. 

In  addition  to  acting  in  a  supervisory  capacity  for 
the  Russian  medical  officers,  then  installed  in  charge  of 

175 


THE    REAL    TRIUMPH   OF    JAPAN 

the  large  hospitals,  the  Japanese  surgeons  began  collect- 
ing and  treating  the  sick  and  wounded  who  were  scat- 
tered about  the  fortress  in  various  places  because  of  lack 
of  room  in  the  regular  hospitals.  About  sixteen  hun- 
dred of  those  cases  were  found  in  some  forty  different 
places  in  the  old  and  new  towns.  They  had  been  housed 
in  hovels,  in  shanties,  in  shops,  in  shattered  dwellings, 
in  wrecked  stores,  in  temples  and  in  abandoned  public 
buildings,  and  most  of  them  were  in  a  deplorable  con- 
dition. Many  had  crawled  to  the  first  available  shelter, 
and  the  larger  number  had  had  no  medical  attention. 
Barracks  which  had  been  shelled  and  partially  ruined 
were  hastily  repaired  and  cleaned,  and  into  those  struc- 
tures, as  well  as  in  the  pretentious  building  that  had 
been  occupied  by  the  Navy  Club,  the  unfortunates  were 
gathered.  Those  quarters,  while  lacking  hospital  equip- 
ment, were  comfortable,  and  under  the  circumstances 
the  Japanese  could  do  no  better;  yet  that  arrange- 
ment resulted  in  friction  with  the  Russians,  who  were 
inclined  to  demand  more  in  the  way  of  shelter  and 
food  than  could  be  provided. 

On  January  14th,  when  Colonel  Hoshino  took  charge 
of  the  medical  work,  he  brought  with  him  seven  Med- 
ical Corps,  three  from  the  army  and  four  from  the 
Red  Cross  Society,  the  latter  acting,  of  course,  entirely 
under  the  direction  of  army  officers.  Each  corps  con- 
sisted of  two  medical  men,  one  apothecary  and  thirty 
soldiers  detailed  as  nurses.  The  total  membership  of 
the  combined  Medical  Corps  was  therefore  231.  He 

176 


PORT    ARTHUR 

also  brought,  as  an  additional  part  of  his  staff,  twenty- 
five  medical  men  and  eighteen  non-commissioned  of- 
ficers, and  thirty-six  soldiers,  making  in  all  310  persons 
to  care  for  the  sick.  He  impressed  others  into  service 
for  emergency  work,  and  thus  assembled  a  force  of 
1,096  persons  as  a  grand  total  of  his  Medical  Corps. 

Colonel  Hoshino  found  that  the  Russian  medical 
staff  consisted  of  no  less  than  2,790  persons,  including 
the  so-called  "  families  "  of  some  of  the  Russian  sur- 
geons. Many  of  the  members  of  the  surgeons'  "  fam- 
ilies "  had  caused  themselves  to  be  enrolled  in  this 
Relief  Corps  because  they  could  secure  better  food  sup- 
plies than  if  they  had  depended  upon  the  common 
military  system  of  distribution.  Indeed,  the  scandalous 
custom  prevailed  of  allowing  the  members  of  those 
families  to  appropriate  for  themselves  what  they  wished 
from  the  hospital  supplies,  the  patients  receiving  what 
remained,  a  fact  the  Japanese  discovered  when  their 
own  supplies  were  distributed. 

In  the  Russian  medical  staff  there  were  136  sur- 
geons and  apothecaries,  15  medical  students,  17  army 
officers  detailed  as  inspectors,  11  priests,  46  clerks,  and 
112  female  "nurses."  The  chief  duty  of  those 
"nurses"  seemed  to  be  to  minister  to  officers  who 
either  were  sick  or  thought  themselves  so.  All  others 
enumerated  were  male  attendants. 

The  Russian  military  hospitals  in  Port  Arthur 
proved  to  be  most  admirable  buildings,  newly  erected 
and  splendidly  adapted  for  the  purposes  for  which  they 

177 


THE    REAL    TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 

were  built.  Some  of  them  were  in  process  of  construc- 
tion at  the  time  of  my  first  visit  to  Port  Arthur,  in 
1899.  They  were  substantial,  one-story  structures  of 
stone,  with  large  windows  and  low  eaves,  and  were 
grouped  on  terraces  upon  the  sunny,  southeastern  slope 
of  Pei-yo-shan.  This  hill  rears  its  head  between  the 
old  and  new  towns  of  Port  Arthur,  almost  directly 
behind  Golden  Hill,  that  forms  the  northern  entrance 
to  the  fine  harbour.  Entering  the  fortress  by  the  rail- 
road, one  passed  along  the  northeastern  side  of  this 
rocky  slope  on  the  opposite  side  of  which  stood  the 
hospitals.  There  was  plenty  of  sunshine  for  those  at- 
tractive buildings,  and  they  were  fortunately  situated 
in  being  sheltered,  not  only  from  the  cold  winds  of 
winter,  but  also  from  the  Japanese  shells,  which  were 
hurled  into  the  fortress  from  behind  famous  "  203 
Metre,"  wrecking  the  war-ships  in  the  harbour  and 
demolishing  hundreds  of  buildings  in  the  old  and  new 
towns.  Golden  Hill  intervened  between  the  hospitals 
and  the  shells  from  Togo's  fleet,  and  they  were  safe 
till  the  Japanese,  capturing  the  mighty  string  of  for- 
tresses to  the  north  and  northeast,  were  able  to  train 
their  guns  on  that  point,  though  many  miles  away. 
One  or  two  shells  did  strike  the  hospital  buildings,  but 
no  casualties  resulted. 

A  substantial  stone  wall  reaching  far  up  the  side 
of  Pei-yo-shan  surrounded  the  entire  hospital  com- 
pound, and  that,  with  the  administration  building, 
rendered  the  hospital  plant  one  of  the  most  attractive 

178 


PORT    ARTHUR 

architectural  groups  within  the  great  fortress.  In 
both  old  and  new  towns  the  public  buildings,  and  some 
of  the  private  dwellings,  were  of  a  character  that  could 
be  found  in  any  modern  city  of  five  hundred  thousand 
inhabitants.  Hardly  could  better  evidence  be  furnished 
of  the  insincerity  of  the  Russians  in  their  repeated 
statement  that  their  occupation  of  Port  Arthur  and 
the  peninsula  on  which  it  is  situated  was  only  tem- 
porary. As  a  matter  of  fact,  if  one  could  have  furnished 
to  the  foreign  departments  of  the  various  nations  a 
complete  set  of  photographs  of  these  buildings,  and 
also  of  those  erected  by  the  Russians  in  the  magnificent 
city  of  Dalney  and  the  towns  along  the  entire  rail- 
road as  far  north  as  Harbin,  one  would  have  offered 
sufficient  ocular  proof  of  that  insincerity.  From  Port 
Arthur  and  Dalney  northward  every  station  was 
marked  by  a  massive  stone  water-tank,  constructed 
largely  of  cut  granite;  while  at  the  railroad  division 
stations  great  stone  roundhouses  and  scores  of  build- 
ings for  railroad  officials  and  others  had  been  erected. 
The  Russian  quarter  of  Dalney  boasted  commodious 
and  pretentious  granite  or  brick  theatres,  churches, 
permanent  barracks,  and  brick  dwellings  by  the  score; 
well-paved  streets;  stone  and  brick  walls  bounding  the 
yards  of  the  houses  and  facing  the  streets;  and  elabo- 
rate gardens.  Those  features,  together  with  the  evi- 
dences of  measures  taken  for  protection  from  the 
elements,  illustrated  more  conclusively  than  anything 
else  the  Russian  intention  of  a  permanent  occupation. 
13  179 


THE    REAL    TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 

A  few  hundred  yards  from  the  main  group  of  hos- 
pitals at  Port  Arthur  stood  the  Eed  Cross  Hospital, 
whose  quota  of  beds  brought  the  total  hospital  capac- 
ity into  the  thousands.  Had  the  medical  system  of 
the  Russian  military  surgeons  been  as  adequate  as  the 
hospital  equipment  was  complete,  the  Japanese  would 
have  found  the  burden  of  caring  for  the  sick  and 
wounded  far  lighter. 

Retaining,  of  course,  the  general  management  in 
their  own  hands,  the  Japanese  had  left  all  details  of 
hospital  work  to  the  conquered  Russian  surgeons,  the 
desire  being  to  save  the  self-respect  of  the  surgeons 
and  to  secure  to  the  sick  ministration  by  their  own 
countrymen.  It  was,  therefore,  a  great  surprise  to 
the  head  surgeons  to  learn  that  orders  were  not  obeyed. 
Obedience  in  a  hospital  they  had  expected  would  be 
as  prompt  and  faithful  as  obedience  on  the  firing  line. 
But  they  soon  discovered  a  deplorable  lack  of  disci- 
pline. The  surgeons  were  divided  by  bickerings  and 
petty  jealousies.  The  patients  acted  largely  as  they 
pleased.  A  dissatisfied  patient,  if  able  to  go  about,  was 
allowed  to  visit  a  hospital  other  than  the  one  in  which 
he  was  enrolled.  If  his  food  was  unsatisfactory,  he 
could  go  elsewhere  for  meals.  A  patient  might  be 
enrolled  in  two  or  more  hospitals.  Subordinates  exe- 
cuted orders  only  when  disposed  to  do  so. 

Upon  the  discovery  of  those  conditions,  Colonel 
Hoshino  summoned  to  a  conference  the  three  chief 
surgeons  of  the  Russian  force  to  devise  some  relief. 

180 


PORT    ARTHUR 

Differences  and  quarrels  arose  between  the  Russian 
surgeons  before  they  had  been  in  session  twenty  min- 
utes, and  one  by  one  they  left  the  room,  nor  could 
they  be  brought  to  an  agreement  as  to  any  policy  pro- 
posed by  the  Japanese.  The  latter  wished  to  send  one 
thousand  convalescents  for  treatment  to  their  well- 
equipped  hospitals,  but  the  Russians  could  not  agree 
upon  the  selection  of  the  men.  To  obtain  any  agree- 
ment or  concerted  action,  the  Japanese  were  obliged 
to  confer  with  each  Russian  surgeon  separately,  and 
then  decide  upon  the  orders  to  be  enforced.  From 
the  outset  complaints  came  from  the  Russians  that 
their  countrymen  in  the  hospitals  received  improper 
and  insufficient  food.  Having  at  first  provided  liber- 
ally on  the  basis  of  the  Russian  census,  and  having 
ascertained  from  the  patients  that  the  fare  was  far 
superior  to  what  they  had  received  from  Russian  au- 
thorities during  the  siege,  the  Japanese  set  on  foot  an 
investigation  which  resulted  in  the  discovery,  to  which 
allusion  has  already  been  made,  that  the  officers'  fam- 
ilies and  mistresses  had  appropriated  the  best  of  the 
supplies  for  their  own  uses.  Beer  was  earnestly  re- 
quested by  the  Russians  for  the  patients  and  was 
found  by  the  Japanese  to  be  consumed  by  the  Russian 
officers  and  their  female  companions.  Radical  action 
was  thereupon  taken  by  the  Japanese,  and  they  put 
into  effect  the  arrangement  by  which  the  enlisted  man 
received  the  same  rations  as  the  general,  which  is  the 
rule  in  the  Japanese  army.  Complaints  then  were 

181 


THE  REAL  TRIUMPH  OF  JAPAN 

received  of  the  quarters  assigned  to  the  sick,  although 
vastly  superior,  in  spite  of  their  crudity,  to  those  from 
which  a  large  number  of  them  had  been  taken.  Those 
complaints  were  summarily  dismissed,  discipline  was 
established  in  all  matters,  and  soon  order  reigned. 

Meanwhile  reports  had  reached  Tokio  of  extrava- 
gance in  the  Commissary  Department  —  that  the  Rus- 
sian sick  received  better  treatment  and  food  than  the 
Japanese  sick.  With  considerable  difficulty  explana- 
tion was  made  that  the  scurvy  had  necessitated  special 
food,  and  the  authorities  accepted  the  reply,  sparing 
the  commanding  surgeon  from  humiliating  criticism 
or  perhaps  punitive  discipline. 

The  aim  of  the  Japanese  surgeons  had  been  not  only 
to  fulfil  all  humane  obligations  toward  the  wounded 
and  suffering,  but  also  to  accelerate  the  evacuation  of 
Port  Arthur  by  the  Russians.  All  the  healthy  troops 
had  been  marched  out  of  town  a  few  days  after  the 
surrender  and  sent  to  Dalney  to  await  transportation 
to  Japan,  to  be  finally  distributed  among  the  camps 
for  military  prisoners  in  various  parts  of  the  empire. 
The  transportation  of  the  sick  and  wounded  began 
the  day  after  Colonel  Hoshino  and  his  assistants  as- 
sumed charge  of  the  medical  work.  Selected  patients 
were  started  on  the  thirty  miles  of  railway  to  Dalney, 
a  journey  that  consumed  five  or  six  hours  because  of 
the  bad  condition  of  the  railroad.  Day  after  day 
patients  were  forwarded  to  the  north,  eight  to  a  car 
if  seriously  ill,  otherwise  eighteen  to  a  car.  Freight- 

182 


PORT    ARTHUR 

cars,  open  and  closed,  were  employed  in  this  work, 
and  during  one  day  four  hundred  patients  were 
mobilized.  Sick  and  well  prisoners  of  war  travelled 
together  until  all  of  both  classes  were  removed.  The 
last  shipment  of  Russian  patients  consisted  of  forty- 
two  insane  cases,  who  had  been  quartered  separately 
on  the  military  hospital  grounds.  They  left  the  for- 
tress May  22d,  and  were  transported  by  boat  from  Dal- 
ney  to  Cheefoo,  and  thence  to  Russia.  The  Red  Cross 
Hospital  had  closed  May  10th.  Finally  but  one  Rus- 
sian was  left  in  Port  Arthur,  a  resident  of  the  town 
for  many  years,  who  remained  at  the  request  of  the 
Japanese  to  assist  in  arranging  municipal  affairs. 

The  Japanese  were  satisfied  with  the  results  of  their 
care  of  the  sick  and  wounded,  for  but  eight  hundred 
of  the  seventeen  thousand  died.  More  than  ten  thou- 
sand were  sent  as  prisoners  to  Japan  practically  re- 
stored to  health.  Over  four  thousand  unable  to  bear 
arms  were  invalided  to  Russia  by  way  of  Cheefoo. 

The  cases  of  scurvy  were  studied  with  much  interest 
by  the  Japanese,  in  the  hope  of  isolating  a  specific 
bacillus.  The  results  of  operations  on  scorbutic  pa- 
tients were  generally  disastrous,  and  autopsy  showed 
that  about  a  third  of  them  had  tuberculosis.  Had  not 
the  Russians  crippled  the  hospitals  by  lack  of  disci- 
pline and  by  wreckage,  the  results  would  have  been 
even  better.  The  operating-rooms  were  adequate  and 
surroundings  were  propitious.  But  in  many  cases  the 
requisite  instruments  were  lacking.  The  Roentgen  ray 

183 


THE  REAL  TRIUMPH  OF  JAPAN 

machine  had  been  disabled,  and  many  cases  were 
robbed  of  the  valuable  diagnostic  assistance.  Other  in- 
struments had  been  broken  or  abused,  wantonly,  as  it 
seemed,  and  the  Russians  were  the  greatest  sufferers 
from  the  resulting  deprivation. 

But  in  addition  to  those  thousands  of  cases  the  Japa- 
nese in  Port  Arthur  had  their  own  sick  and  wounded. 
At  the  time  of  my  visit,  at  the  close  of  June,  1905, 
there  were  about  seven  thousand  Japanese  soldiers  in 
the  garrison  of  the  fortress,  of  whom  only  120,  or  a 
percentage  of  only  1.5,  were  in  hospital,  as  a  result 
of  the  excellent  sanitation  in  the  field.  During  the 
early  part  of  the  occupation  of  the  fortress  by  the 
Japanese  the  average  number  of  their  men  in  hospital 
was  five  hundred,  with  a  sharp  increase  in  March  and 
April,  due  to  accidents  that  resulted  from  the  explo- 
sion of  hidden  mines  during  the  removal  of  the  dead 
from  the  battle-fields. 

The  record  made  by  the  besieging  army  in  combat- 
ing infectious  diseases  is  impressive  when  compared 
with  that  made  on  the  same  spot  ten  years  before.  In 
the  war  with  China,  one  out  of  every  nine  of  the 
sick  in  Japan's  investing  army  suffered  from  infec- 
tious disease.  In  the  war  with  Russia,  only  one  out 
of  every  eighty  sick  men  suffered  with  infectious  dis- 
ease. The  difference  between  the  ratio  of  nine  to  one 
and  that  of  eighty  to  one  represents  mathematically 
the  progress  made  by  Japan  in  ten  years  in  the  problem 
of  grappling  with  preventable  disease  in  war.  When 

184 


PORT    ARTHUR 

the  government  publishes  the  full  medical  statistics 
of  the  siege  doubtless  more  striking  illustrations  of 
that  progress  will  be  shown. 

A  very  striking  and  interesting  condition  presented 
itself  at  the  moment  of  the  conclusion  of  the  heroic 
siege.  It  concerned  the  effect  of  dietary.  Inside  the 
fortress  the  besieged  army  suffered  little  from  con- 
tagious diseases;  outside  the  fortifications  the  besieg- 
ing army  was  comparatively  free  from  contagion.  But 
each  army  had  its  scourge:  the  beleaguered  Kussians, 
suffering  from  a  dearth  of  vegetables,  rapidly  fell  vic- 
tims to  scurvy;  the  investing  Japanese,'  with  a  too 
liberal  supply  of  one  vegetable,  rice,  were  sadly  weak- 
ened by  beri-beri  at  a  time  when  their  utmost  strength 
was  needed.  Probably  no  more  striking  illustration  has 
ever  been  presented  of  the  effect  of  diet  upon  armies 
in  the  field. 

The  panorama  which  I  viewed  in  the  latter  part  of 
June  from  the  window  of  my  hotel  at  Port  Arthur  — 
Port  Arthur,  with  its  quivering  memories  and  its  tales 
of  dread  war  and  unspeakable  horrors  —  gave  me  a 
thrill  and  a  shock.  The  scene  baffles  description. 
Within  a  radius  of  three  hundred  yards  in  the  little 
harbour  I  counted  something  like  fifty-one  sunken  craft, 
their  decks  awash,  their  shattered  gunwales  and  bat- 
tered funnels  telling  more  eloquently  than  words  the 
story  of  retributive  justice  that  had  overtaken  the  proud 
Colossus  of  the  North. 

Looking  toward  the  hills  one  could  see  where  the 
185 


THE    REAL    TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 

first,  second,  and  third  lines  of  defence  ran ;  but,  with- 
out climbing  to  old  "  203  Metre  "  or  the  fortifications 
to  the  north,  it  was  impossible  to  realize  what  it  meant 
to  let  loose  the  dogs  of  war  in  such  a  place,  and  with 
such  masters  as  the  Russians  and  the  Japanese  to  urge 
them  on.  Havoc  had  been  turned  loose  on  those  hills. 
There  was  scarce  a  square  yard  that  was  not  littered 
with  fragments  of  monster  shells.  Not  a  foot  of  the 
rock  had  escaped  upheaval,  and  massive  fortifications  of 
concrete  had  been  tossed  about  as  if  made  of  papier- 
mache. 

"  203  Metre "  hill  is  where  the  gallant  son  of  that 
grizzled  warrior  Nogi  fell,  leading  a  "  certain  death  " 
party.  The  Japanese  characters  for  the  figures  2,  0,  3 
are  pronounced  ne-rei-san,  which  also  signify  "Your 
Spirit  Mountain."  So  the  grand  old  General  chris- 
tened the  hill  in  the  name  of  the  dead,  Your  Spirit 
Mountain,  ne-rei-san,  a  name  the  pathos  and  poetic  sig- 
nificance of  which  is  destined  to  last  as  long  as  the 
language  in  which  it  is  written. 

It  was  my  privilege  one  evening,  after  a  dinner  given 
me  by  General  Ijichi,  Nogi's  chief-of-staff,  and  served 
on  the  plates  of  the  vanquished  Russian,  to  hear  the 
General  recount  tales  of  the  siege.  As  the  great  search- 
light on  Golden  Hill  flashed  over  the  porch  from  time 
to  time,  General  Ijichi  was  reminded  of  numerous  fea- 
tures of  the  conflict  and  of  incidents  of  Russian  bra- 
very. It  was  a  pleasure,  as  well  as  a  surprise,  to  hear 
the  following  statement  from  this  stern  soldier,  keen, 

186 


PORT    ARTHUR 

deliberate,  accurate  in  his  choice  of  words,  German- 
trained  in  military  methods,  his  figure  as  lithe  and 
straight  as  that  of  a  cadet  fresh  from  the  academy: 
"  I  think  that  the  Russian  private  soldier  was  even 
braver  than  the  Japanese  private.  I  also  believe  his- 
tory will  justify  General  Stoessel  in  his  surrender  of 
Port  Arthur.  Had  there  been  reason  to  believe  that 
help  from  the  north  could  have  reached  him,  or  that 
the  Baltic  fleet  could  have  come  to  his  aid,  he  might 
have  been  justified  in  holding  out.  We  had  decided 
to  take  the  place  in  five  days  more.  We  had  all  the 
commanding  fortifications.  The  rest  simply  meant 
hand-to-hand  fighting  in  the  streets.  We  out-numbered 
our  opponents,  but  further  conflict  would  only  have 
resulted  in  the  unnecessary  killing  of  thousands  more. 
Stoessel  was  right.  History  will  justify  him." 

This  expression  may  have  been  the  generous  tribute 
of  the  victor  to  the  vanquished,  but  General  Ijichi 
manifested  the  deepest  feeling  in  manner  and  speech. 
In  view  of  the  sacrifices  made  in  two  wars  by  the  Jap- 
anese in  the  capture  of  Port  Arthur,  it  is  not  difficult 
to  appreciate  the  subtlety  of  General  Ijichi's  humour 
as,  with  twinkling  eyes,  he  said:  "I  am  afraid  that 
we  are  not  quite  civilized  enough  to  give  up  Port 
Arthur  again." 

When  Port  Arthur  finally  capitulated,  the  opinion 
prevailed  among  those  conversant  with  its  terribly  un- 
sanitary condition  that  a  serious  epidemic  would  fol- 
low the  advent  of  warm  weather.  The  Japanese  offi- 

187 


THE  REAL  TRIUMPH  OF  JAPAN 

cials,  after  consultation  with  the  medical  staff  and  with 
other  eminent  authorities  in  Tokio,  made  no  secret  of 
their  dread;  but,  whether  the  expected  scourge  would 
take  the  form  of  typhoid  or  cholera  or  plague,  they 
could  only  conjecture.  They  remembered  the  condi- 
tions that  followed  the  war  ten  years  before,  when  their 
besieging  army  was  decimated  in  that  region  and  in 
China  by  cholera  and  plague,  and  realized  that  existing 
conditions  were  surely  such  as  to  favour  a  pestilence. 

They  were  fully  justified  in  their  fears.  The  hills 
surrounding  Port  Arthur  were  strewn  for  miles  with 
the  dead  of  the  opposing  armies.  There  had  been  no 
attempt  to  bury  the  fallen,  for  the  mountains  on  which 
the  fearful  struggle  had  taken  place  were  enormous 
barren  rocks  affected  so  little  by  the  attrition  of  cen- 
turies that  single  spears  of  grass  could  scarcely  find 
a  foothold  in  the  most  sheltered  places.  Gaunt,  rugged 
rocks  they  were,  with  scarcely  a  handful  of  earth  with 
which  to  spread  even  a  blanket  over  the  fallen  soldier. 
There  were  small  stones  in  great  profusion  which  suf- 
ficed as  a  temporary  covering  for  the  victims,  but  it 
was  obvious  that  with  the  approach  of  summer  a  con- 
dition of  affairs  might  prevail  that  it  is  perhaps  best 
to  refrain  from  indicating. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  in  the  autumn,  when  the 
great  siege  reached  its  most  discouraging  stage,  Nogi 
found  it  impossible  to  capture  the  mountain  fortresses 
by  assault.  He  saw  that  he  must  not  only  make  his 
way,  under  fire,  across  the  plains  to  the  hills,  but  that 

188 


PORT    ARTHUR 

he  must  scale  the  sides  of  those  hills,  inch  by  inch, 
opening  channels  through  the  rock  as  he  advanced,  — 
an  undertaking  that  completely  exhausted  the  regiment 
of  engineers  in  charge  of  the  operations  on  two  occa- 
sions before  the  valleys  of  death  led  to  final  victory. 
It  was  then  that  the  conduits  from  the  reservoirs  near 
Erh-lang-shan  were  destroyed;  and,  while  the  cutting 
off  of  the  water-supply  did  very  little  damage  to  the 
Eussian  cause,  the  weather  at  the  time  being  cold,  the 
unwholesome  wells  which  the  besieged  men  were  com- 
pelled to  resort  to  brought  a  menace  to  the  Japanese 
later. 

In  addition  the  state  of  public  and  private  drainage 
in  Port  Arthur  was  frightful.  The  streets  were  littered 
with  filth  and  the  houses  were  entirely  neglected  from 
a  sanitary  standpoint,  so  that  when  the  fortress  finally 
succumbed  there  was  scarcely  a  thoroughfare  or  a  build- 
ing that  did  not  invite  epidemic  and  contagion  with  the 
advent  of  summer. 

The  Japanese,  with  characteristic  forethought,  ad- 
ministered the  prevention,  for,  with  them,  the  harder 
the  task  the  more  earnest  was  the  effort  to  master  it. 
It  was  Santiago  over  again,  only  in  circumstances  far 
more  aggravated,  with  the  result  that  the  dreaded  epi- 
demic did  not  materialize  but  was  throttled  before  it 
developed. 

Following  their  custom  when  occupying  a  town  more 
than  two  days,  a  commission  was  promptly  appointed 
by  the  Japanese  to  consider  the  measures  necessary  to 

189 


THE    REAL    TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 

insure  sanitary  order.  The  medical  staff  of  the  fortress 
were  members  of  the  commission,  which  was  directed 
by  Colonel  Sato,  assisted  by  Doctor  Arigo,  the  inter- 
national law  expert  attached  to  Nogi's  army,  who  also 
drew  up  the  articles  of  capitulation  and  was  a  leading 
official  of  the  splendidly  equipped  Eed  Cross  Society 
of  Japan.  Colonel  Hoshino,  the  chief  medical  officer, 
took  the  leading  part  in  the  work,  and  was  ably  seconded 
by  General  Ijichi,  who  had  succeeded  to  the  command 
of  the  fortress. 

The  plan  adopted  provided  that,  first,  all  wells  should 
be  thoroughly  cleaned,  as  it  was  impossible  to  repair 
the  frozen  conduit  until  the  ice  melted,  and  meantime 
the  150  wells  that  supplied  the  town  with  water  were 
sources  of  gravest  danger.  Those  wells  were  emptied 
and  their  interiors  were  thoroughly  treated  with  lime 
and  other  chemicals,  after  which  they  were  cemented 
by  solid  masonry  to  prevent  the  entrance  of  surface 
drainage.  Dead  bodies  of  men  and  animals  were  dis- 
covered in  some  of  the  wells,  and  in  others  all  kinds 
of  refuse  had  been  thrown.  Some  contained  family 
heirlooms,  hidden  for  safety.  Thrifty  Chinese,  with 
minds  ever  open  to  the  chance  for  gain,  had  buried 
shells  in  some  of  the  wells,  and  in  others  cases  of  gun- 
powder were  found.  There  were  few  that  were  pure, 
or  that  would  not  have  proved  a  serious  menace  to 
health  as  the  season  advanced. 

The  commission  next  turned  its  attention  to  the  bat- 
tle-fields. Thousands  of  men  were  still  lying  on  the 

190 


PORT    ARTHUR 

mountainsides,  and  thousands  more  were  only  partly 
buried.  Honour  as  well  as  sanitary  safety  required 
proper  sepulchre  for  the  dead.  All  available  troops 
and  thousands  of  Chinese  coolies  were  employed  in  this 
work.  No  foreigners  remained  in  Port  Arthur  three 
weeks  after  its  capitulation,  with  the  exception  of  the 
conquerors  and  a  few  sick  and  wounded  Russian  pris- 
oners. Some  coolies  remained  through  the  siege,  and 
others  had  burrowed  into  cover,  reappearing  when  the 
sound  of  the  guns  finally  ceased.  The  Chinese  were 
nearly  as  great  a  menace  to  the  health  of  the  fortress 
as  the  unburied  dead.  They  not  only  searched  the 
wearing  apparel  of  the  war  victims,  but  stole  it  and 
left  them  naked,  and  they  desecrated  the  graves  under 
the  loose  rocks  for  clothing  and  trinkets.  That  revolt- 
ing plunder  was,  however,  summarily  stopped,  and  the 
Chinese  were  pressed  into  service  with  the  soldiers. 
The  territory  to  be  cleansed  was  divided  into  four  dis- 
tricts, and  each  district  was  traversed  three  times. 
After  the  first  and  second  searches  it  was  found  that 
some  of  the  dead  had  been  disturbed,  but  the  Japanese 
took  summary  action  that  stopped  any  further  noc- 
turnal prowling  among  the  graves. 

The  Russian  dead  were  buried,  while  the  bodies  of 
the  Japanese  were  burned,  and  sanitary  safety  assured. 
The  magnitude  of  the  undertaking  may  be  conjectured 
from  the  fact  that  at  the  great  Russian  fortress,  Erh- 
lang-shan,  more  than  three  thousand  bodies  were  burned. 
Large  numbers  were  similarly  disposed  of  at  the  other 

191 


THE  REAL  TRIUMPH  OF  JAPAN 

t 

fortresses,  as  well  as  at  203  Metre  Hill,  —  which  had 
not  been  fortified,  the  Russians  believing  that  the  enemy 
could  never  storm  its  heights  in  the  face  of  the  mur- 
derous hail  of  steel  from  the  trenches  and  field  artillery 
that  commanded  it.  Nearly  six  weeks  were  consumed 
in  the  work  of  recovering  the  bodies  of  the  dead,  and 
the  energies  of  the  Sanitary  Commission  were  taxed 
to  their  utmost.  Great  danger  attended  the  task,  owing 
to  sunken  mines  that  occasionally  exploded,  killing 
hundreds  of  the  workers.  Reference  to  the  hospital 
records  revealed  the  danger  in  that  work.  In  Febru- 
ary 37.74  per  thousand  of  troops  in  the  fortress  were 
under  treatment.  In  March  this  percentage  increased 
to  52.95.  In  April  the  percentage  had  increased  to 
55.97;  and,  in  May,  when  the  work  was  completed, 
it  suddenly  dropped  to  30  per  thousand. 

The  skill  displayed  in  concealing  those  mines  was  a 
credit  to  Russian  engineering.  Their  force  of  detona- 
tion was  tremendous,  as  I  had  occasion  to  ascertain 
when  visiting  Erh-lang-shan,  where-  one  of  them  ex- 
ploded, scattering  an  enormous  mass  of  rock  for  hun- 
dreds of  yards.  Powerful,  indeed,  were  these  death- 
dealing  machines.  They  were  quite  similar  in  appear- 
ance to  those  about  the  Gulf  of  Pechili,  one  of  which 
I  had  attempted  to  explode  with  a  rifle  the  previous 
summer,  thirty  miles  off  Port  Arthur,  where  it  was 
anchored.  A  lamentable  tragedy  had  occurred  just 
before  my  last  visit,  when  seven  of  a  party  of  well- 
known  citizens  from  Dalney  were  killed,  and  several 

192 


PORT    ARTHUR 

others  wounded,  by  the  explosion  of  one  of  these  hid- 
den volcanoes. 

Having  completed  the  burial  and  cremation  of  the 
bodies  of  the  dead  soldiers,  the  commission  next  took 
up  the  matter  of  drainage  and  street  cleaning.  During 
the  last  few  months  of  the  siege  the  highways  of  the 
town  had  become  indescribably  filthy  and  almost  im- 
passable. Debris  from  the  shattered  buildings  had 
fallen  into  the  streets,  where  every  conceivable  species 
of  rubbish  had  also  been  dumped,  so  that  good  drainage 
was  imperative.  Thousands  of  coolies  were  promptly 
set  to  work  removing  the  litter  and  digging  ditches  to 
carry  off  the  surface  water. 

Surface  drainage  is  universal  in  Japanese  cities,  as 
it  is  in  all  Oriental  countries  where  any  system  is  in 
use  at  all,  and  it  is  not  a  menace  to  health,  because  of 
the  method  employed  in  disposing  of  night-soil,  which 
is  carried  away  in  pails  and  used  for  agricultural  pur- 
poses. These  surface  drains,  which  are  about  a  foot 
wide  and  from  a  foot  to  eighteen  inches  deep,  are  some- 
times covered,  but  usually  they  are  left  open  and  kept 
in  a  sanitary  condition  through  being  flushed  by  rains 
and  by  the  free  admission  of  sunlight. 

The  next  step  of  importance  was  the  sanitation  of 
the  buildings,  which  was  rendered  difficult  because  hun- 
dreds of  them  were  masses  of  ruins  as  a  result  of  the 
effective  bombardment  of  the  Japanese.  Even  those 
structures  that  had  escaped  damage  were  left  in  fright- 
fully unsanitary  condition  as  a  rule,  so  that  an  exten- 

193 


THE  REAL  TRIUMPH  OF  JAPAN 

sive  plan  of  wholesale  house-cleaning  was  inaugurated. 
Not  a  single  building  was  neglected,  and  the  result  was 
that  Port  Arthur,  in  spite  of  its  battered  condition, 
became  a  clean  city.  In  the  course  of  this  work  it  was 
discovered  that  the  Chinese  quarter  near  Golden  Hill 
was  a  dangerous  menace  to  the  health  of  the  rest  of 
the  town.  It  was  a  squatter  settlement  near  the  "old 
lake,"  lying  snug  under  Golden  Hill,  and  absolutely 
safe  from  Togo's  guns.  In  that  settlement  were  fully 
one  hundred  large  buildings  that  had  been  used  as 
barracks  by  the  Chinese  army  during  the  war  with 
Japan  in  1894,  and  in  which  about  1,500  Chinese 
had  lived  through  the  siege  in  squalor  and  filth. 
The  commission  summarily  destroyed  those  barracks, 
and  sent  the  inhabitants  to  a  neighbouring  settle- 
ment. 

As  spring  advanced,  the  city  reservoir  was  thor- 
oughly cleaned  and  the  main  conduit  repaired  by  new 
sections  sent  from  Japan,  thus  restoring  the  water- 
supply.  The  reservoir  lies  to  the  north  of  the  great 
fortresses,  where  thousands  of  Japanese  were  killed  in 
the  effort  to  storm  the  mountain  fastnesses,  and  the 
drainage  from  those  hills  ran  into  it.  It  was  necessary 
to  take  special  precautions  to  prevent  that  drainage 
from  reaching  the  reservoir,  therefore;  and,  although 
it  involved  some  difficult  engineering,  it  was  success- 
fully accomplished.  That  problem  having  been  solved, 
the  coolies  were  employed  in  road-making ;  and,  during 
my  visit,  thousands  of  square  yards  of  broken  stone 

194 


PORT    ARTHUR 

were  converting  Manchurian  ruts  into  excellent  macad- 
amized highways. 

The  work  of  sanitation  was  well  done,  and  it  was 
pleasant  to  reflect  that  it  would  not  be  long  before 
Nature's  beneficent  hand  would  obliterate  the  horrible 
traces  of  the  awful  struggle  that  took  place  in  and 
around  that  great  port,  and  that  Time,  the  merciful 
healer  of  wounds  of  spirit  as  of  flesh,  would  efface  the 
record  of  suffering,  and  leave  only  the  memory  of 
heroism  to  be  enshrined  in  the  pages  of  history.  Port 
Arthur  is  probably  destined  to  be  for  centuries  a  Mecca 
of  historical  interest.  To-day  it  is  one  of  the  most 
extraordinary  spots  on  earth,  not  only  because  of  the 
great  struggle  that  took  place  there,  but  by  reason  of 
the  masterful  manner  in  which  the  demon  of  Pestilence 
was  foiled  after  the  fiend  of  War  had  been  annihilated. 


14  195 


CHAPTEE   XL 

THE  HISTORY  OF  MEDICAL  SCIENCE  IN  JAPAN 

PEOBABLY  no  better  illustration  of  the  charac- 
teristic power  of  adaption  rather  than  adoption, 
of  creation  rather  than  imitation,  by  the  Japanese 
people  can  be  found  in  all  their  history  than  the  man- 
ner in  which  they  have  grasped  and  absorbed  into  the 
routine  of  their  scientific  life  every  real  advance  made 
by  medical  science.  To-day  Japan  takes  equal  rank 
with  Occidental  countries  in  the  practice  of  medicine, 
and  in  activity  and  success  in  certain  fields  of  original 
research,  especially  in  bacteriology  and  pathology,  while 
in  the  application  of  practical  sanitation  in  her  army 
she  occupies  the  vanguard  of  the  world. 

Although  it  is  only  half  a  century  since  Japan  was 
a  "hermit  nation/'  it  would  be  a  grave  mistake  to 
assume  that  little  was  known  in  the  science  of  the  heal- 
ing art  in  the  empire  before  Commodore  Perry  caused 
her  gates  to  open  to  the  world.  From  the  time  of  the 
earliest  historical  records,  indeed  from  the  period  when 
the  Japanese  people  began  to  emerge  from  the  mists 
of  mythology,  one  finds  they  have  been  eager  to  learn 

196 


MEDICAL    SCIENCE    IN    JAPAN 

all  that  was  possible  about  the  cure  of  human  ills. 
Medicine  was  the  one  subject  excepted  when  they  closed 
the  doors  of  their  empire  to  all  foreign  teaching.  Even 
that  was  debarred  for  a  time,  but  soon  books  relating 
to  medical  subjects  were  readmitted,  and  nothing 
deemed  advantageous  for  the  development  of  medical 
science  was  rejected. 

Indeed,  as  a  "hermit  nation,"  and  even  before  that 
era,  when  her  civilization,  her  art,  science  and  religion 
were  those  imported  from  Korea  and  China,  Japan  had 
shown  progressive  tendencies  in  medicine.  To  sub- 
stantiate this  fact  one  has  only  to  cite  the  case  of  the 
surgeon  Hanaoka  Seishu,  famous  for  his  daring  in  sur- 
gery, who,  in  1798,  invented  a  narcosis  of  his  own, 
although  the  Chinese  had  previously  used  hemp  as  a 
narcotic.  This  was  forty-six  years  before  the  use  of 
ether  as  an  anaesthetic,  and  fifty-one  years  before  chlo- 
roform was  used  for  the  same  purpose.  If  one  studies 
the  chronology  of  Japanese  medicine,  he  finds  that 
from  the  earliest  times  students  were  sent  by  the  gov- 
ernment to  foreign  countries  to  gather  the  latest  in- 
formation about  the  healing  art,  a  practice  which  slill 
prevails.  From  the  earliest  times  the  emperors,  and 
later  the  shoguns,  were  favourable,  as  a  rule,  to  those 
missions  of  research.  Hospitals  were  established  as 
early  as  the  year  667  A.  D.,  and  701  medical  examina- 
tions were  held  in  the  colleges  that  had  been  founded 
by  imperial  decree.  This,  too,  at  the  time  of  the  mid- 
night of  the  Dark  Ages  of  Europe.  In  808,  a  hundred 

197 


THE    REAL    TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 

volumes,  representing  the  medical  erudition  of  the 
Orient,  were  compiled.  All  those  books  have  been  lost, 
but  in  984  the  great  Ishin  compilation  of  medical  works 
was  made,  consisting  of  thirty  volumes  and  treating 
of  botany,  pharmacy,  hygiene,  and  sanitation.  It  is  said 
to  be  the  oldest  medical  book  extant. 

From  the  beginning,  when  the  gods  Oanamuchi- 
no-Mikoto  and  Sukuna-hikona-no-Mikoto  practised 
what  was  called  medicine,  with  some  knowledge  of 
surgery,  midwifery,  and  children's  diseases,  and  used 
blood-letting  and  acupuncture  and  the  water-cure  with 
exorcisms,  the  practice  of  the  healing  art  was  associated 
with  religious  rites.  About  100  B.  c.  the  civilization 
of  Korea,  with  its  literature  and  arts,  was  introduced 
into  Japan,  and  many  Korean  medical  men  went  to 
Japan  to  practise  medicine  and  to  spread  their  religious 
ideas.  Later  Buddhism  reached  the  shores  of  Japan 
and  took  firm  root  in  the  land,  and  Chinese  culture 
and  civilization,  with  its  medical  system,  became  estab- 
lished. It  was  through  the  Buddhist  priests  that  knowl- 
edge of  medicine  was  promulgated.  The  Buddhists 
were  great  students  of  astronomy  as  well  as  philosophy, 
and  the  spirit  of  learning  developed  a  desire  to  know 
more  about  the  ills  of  humanity  and  their  treatment. 
As  early  as  459  an  autopsy  was  performed.  It  was 
made  upon  the  body  of  the  daughter  of  the  Emperor 
Yuryaku.  Although  there  are  few  other  records  of 
autopsies  until  hundreds  of  years  later,  when  the  bodies 
of  executed  criminals  were  used  for  that  purpose,  it 

198 


MEDICAL    SCIENCE    IN    JAPAN 

is  a  fact  that  the  Japanese  scholars  were  not  only  eager 
to  examine  all  medical  theories,  but  to  establish  what 
they  believed  to  be  true  conceptions  of  human  anatomy. 
In  the  period  from  608  to  808  great  encouragement 
was  given  to  learning  by  the  emperors,  and  hundreds 
of  students  were  sent  to  China  to  study  and  report 
on  the  latest  systems  in  vogue  there  and  to  make  rec- 
ommendations for  reform  in  Japan.  The  wise  Emperor 
Tenchi  was  a  leader  in  this  work.  He  established  a 
university  and  many  schools  and  even  founded  an  as- 
tronomical observatory.  It  was  during  the  reign  of 
Emperor  Mommu  that  a  code  of  laws,  founded  upon 
the  jurisprudence  of  the  To  Dynasty  in  China,  was 
compiled  and  enacted.  This  was  in  the  year  701.  A 
comprehensive  series  of  regulations  for  medical  studies 
was  promulgated.  Schedules  of  the  courses  of  study 
were  prepared  and  examinations  instituted.  A  course 
of  seven  years  of  instruction  in  internal  diseases  was 
required  before  graduation.  Instruction  in  children's 
diseases  and  surgery  required  six  years,  and  diseases 
of  the  eyes,  ears,  and  throat  four  years,  before  the 
student  was  deemed  sufficiently  proficient  for  practice. 
Thus,  the  idea  of  specialization  in  medicine  began  in 
Japan  over  1,200  years  ago.  A  bureau  of  sanitation 
and  pharmacy  formed  a  part  of  the  curriculum  of  the 
medical  school  founded  by  the  Emperor.  Included  in 
the  faculty  was  a  professor  of  gynaecology.  A  charity 
hospital  was  also  established,  and  a  small  book  on  the 
treatment  of  diseases  was  printed  and  distributed"  over 

199 


THE  REAL  TRIUMPH  OF  JAPAN 

the  land,  so  that  the  poor  might  reap  the  benefits  of 
the  latest  knowledge. 

At  this  time  the  effect  of  mineral  waters  upon  the 
human  system  was  studied  and  made  known  to  the 
medical  men  throughout  the  empire.  In  the  reign  of 
Emperor  Heijo  all  the  obtainable  precepts  and  for- 
mulas of  other  countries  were  compiled  and  printed, 
and  copies  were  sent  to  the  government  physicians  in 
each  of  the  prefectures.  This  book,  consisting  of  one 
hundred  volumes,  was  known  as  the  Dai-do-Rui-Shu, 
and  it  treated  of  sanitation  as  well  as  medicine,  and 
was  compiled  by  the  most  learned  men  in  the  empire. 
It  was  during  this  period  that  great  progress  was  made 
in  medical  education.  In  984  the  famous  Ishin  com- 
pilation was  made  by  Mwa.  This  work  not  only  dealt 
with  the  history  of  medicine,  but  also  contained  trea- 
tises on  botany;  anatomy  (especially  of  the  circula- 
tory system) ;  pharmacy;  nutrition  and  the  latest  ideas 
of  treatment  of  specific  diseases  then  known. 

The  progress  made  at  this  period  was  largely  due 
to  the  spirit  of  research  promoted  by  the  Emperor  Nlm- 
myo,  himself  very  learned  in  medicine.  Physicians 
were  sent  to  China  and  Korea  to  teach  the  results  of 
their  own  researches  and  by  special  request  to  treat 
members  of  the  royal  families  of  those  lands.  Among 
these  was  the  famous  physician  Sugawara,  especially 
skilful  in  the  treatment  of  malaria,  who  visited  China 
and  made  a  special  study  of  sanitation,  thus  displaying 
the  marked  tendency  for  research  in  this  branch  that 

200 


Las  been  evidenced  all  through  the  history  of  Japan. 
As  a  result  of  that  development  a  learned  physi- 
cian, Fukane,  compiled  a  collection  of  researches  in 
the  field  of  hygiene  which  was  published  in  seven  vol- 
umes. Another  book,  compiled  during  the  reign  of 
Emperor  Nimmyo,  related  to  Japanese  plants  and 
remedies. 

It  was  at  that  time  that  the  ancient  systems  of  medi- 
cine reached  their  highest  development.  The  spread 
of  learning  was  no  longer  confined  to  the  nobility.  The 
warrior  period  of  national  existence  was  approaching, 
and  representative  men  soon  found  it  to  their  advantage 
to  become  patrons  of  learning  and  to  participate  per- 
sonally in  what  might  be  called  the  higher  education 
of  the  times. 

But  the  military  spirit  soon  grew  so  predominant 
that  refined  ideas  had  to  yield  to  brute  strength,  and 
martial  ardour  absorbed  the  energies  and  controlled  the 
impulses  of  most  of  the  nation's  greatest  men.  The 
study  of  medicine  no  longer  progressed.  Indeed  it  ret- 
rograded; although  Buddhist  priests  continued  to  visit 
China  and  to  bring  back  the  most  recent  results  of 
medical  research. 

The  powerful  support  of  the  rulers  of  the  land  was 
lacking,  however,  and  from  1100  to  1450  little  advance 
was  made.  Nevertheless,  during  that  period  five  im- 
portant medical  books  were  written  and  a  pharma- 
copoeia was  compiled  by  royal  authority.  There  was 
also  established  a  hospital  for  leprosy  at  Nara.  That 

201 


THE    REAL    TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 

period   is  known  in  the  annals  of  Japanese  medicine 
as  the  "time  of  struggle." 

With  the  advent  of  the  Ashikaga  shogunate  com- 
parative peace  reigned,  and  during  that  period  the 
famous  Ashikaga  Medical  Institution  and  the  Kana- 
zawa  library  were  established.  Many  Chinese  scholars 
visited  Japan,  and  Confucianism  began  to  supplant 
Buddhism  as  a  national  force  in  civilization  and  cul- 
ture, bringing  with  it  many  great  students,  such  as 
Fujiwara,  Hayashi  and  others  learned  in  the  meta- 
physics of  the  newer  school  of  thought.  What  is  known 
as  the  King- Yen  school  of  Chinese  medicine  had  full 
sway  then  for  about  one  hundred  years,  or  until  1542, 
when  the  Portuguese  discovered  Japan  and  brought 
revolutionary  influence  to  bear  upon  its  mental  devel- 
opment. Then  a  new  era  dawned  in  medicine  as  well 
as  in  metaphysics  and  scientific  culture. 

The  Portuguese  brought  medicine  as  their  chief  offer- 
ing of  friendship.  In  1549  Francis  Xavier,  the  Jesuit 
missionary,  arrived  and  through  medical  charities  made 
his  greatest  headway  in  his  effort  to  introduce  Chris- 
tianity. He  established  a  charity  hospital  for  leprosy; 
and,  having  converted  the  son  of  a  leading  daimio,  he 
was  presented  to  Nobunaga,  the  shogun,  from  whom 
he  received  much  encouragement.  Christianity  was 
first 'taught  in  Shimabara,  and  then  by  stages  Xavier 
and  his  followers  passed  over  to  Yamaguchi  on  the 
mainland,  converting  three  thousand  persons  and  bap- 
tizing them  within  a  single  year.  The  shogun  allowed 

202 


MEDICAL    SCIENCE    IN    JAPAN 

Xavier  to  erect  a  church  in  Kioto  and  was  induced  to 
open  the  harbour  of  Nagasaki  to  the  Europeans,  which 
led  to  the  long  restricted  occupation  of  Desima  by  the 
Dutch.  That  fact  was  instrumental  in  establishing 
what  is  known  as  the  Dutch  era  in  Japanese  medicine. 

The  Jesuit  missionaries  continued  to  practise  medi- 
cine in  the  furtherance  of  their  purposes,  and  they 
established  three  charity  hospitals  in  Yamaguchi.  Many 
Japanese  studied  medicine  with  them,  a  fact  of  sig- 
nificance and  influence  in  the  future  development  of 
the  science.  Those  missionaries  were  the  pioneers  of 
Occidental  medical  ideas  in  Japan. 

The  members  of  the  Tendai  and  Shingon  sects  of 
Buddhism,  having  resented  the  influence  of  the  Chris- 
tian missionaries  with  Nobunaga,  the  shogun  put  them 
down  by  force,  and  to  humiliate  them  further  he  con- 
tinued to  show  favour  to  the  Christians.  It  was  at 
that  time  that  the  shogun  allowed  the  Christian  church 
to  be  built  at  Kioto.  An  annual  gratuity  was  also  pro- 
vided by  the  shogun,  in  addition  to  which  he  gave  them 
fifty  cho  of  ground  upon  which  to  establish  a  pharma- 
ceutical garden  in  the  province  of  Omi,  where  they 
soon  had  nearly  three  thousand  varieties  of  plants  grow- 
ing for  medicinal  purposes.  After  the  death  of  Nobu- 
naga there  came  a  reaction  against  the  Jesuits,  and 
the  Christians  were  massacred  and  modern  religious 
thought  and  influences  were  banished  from  the  land 
for  centuries.  The  new  medical  ideas,  however,  could 
not  be  uprooted;  for  the  Japanese  who  had  studied 

203 


under  Xavier  and  his  followers  continued  to  practise 
after  the  Dutch  School  of  Medicine,  especially  in  Osaka 
and  Sakai. 

The  Dutch,  however,  who  had  come  to  Japan,  solely 
for  the  purposes  of  trade,  were  not  banished,  but  were 
allowed  to  occupy  Desima  Island  at  Nagasaki.  They 
continued  to  teach  medicine  orally,  as  all  importations 
of  European  books  had  then  been  strictly  forbidden. 
That  state  of  affairs  continued  nearly  one  hundred 
years,  but  even  then  the  Japanese  were  progressing  in 
medical  science,  especially  in  matters  relating  to  sani- 
tation. The  Charity  Hospital  in  Kioto  was  much 
enlarged  and  pharmaceutical  gardens  were  established 
at  Shinagawa  and  Ushigome  in  Yeddo,  according  to 
Japanese  methods  of  gardening.  They  were  united 
afterward  and  transferred  to  Koishikawa  Hakusan,  and 
exist  to-day  as  the  botanical  garden  of  the  University 
of  Tokio. 

During  the  latter  part  of  the  Ming  Dynasty  in  China 
there  was  introduced  what  has  been  called  vaccination, 
but  which  was  really  inoculation  for  smallpox.  The 
common  method  then  in  vogue  was  to  blow  the  pulver- 
ized germ-laden  crusts  of  smallpox  into  the  nostril 
through  a  silver  tube,  —  the  left  nostril  for  a  male 
and  the  right  nostril  for  a  female. 

The  Tokugawa  shogunate  was  thoroughly  established 
by  that  time  in  Japan,  and  the  ruling  shogun  encour- 
aged the  study  of  medicine,  even  seeking  personal  in- 
struction in  the  science  through  an  interpreter  from 

204 


MEDICAL    SCIENCE    IN    JAPAN 

the  Dutch.  In  1688  a  treatise  on  ophthalmology  was 
published,  a  work  which  to-day  commands  respect  for 
the  minuteness  and  care  that  characterized  its  prepara- 
tion. In  1690  the  German  physician  Kaempfer,  with 
the  Dutch  Minister,  visited  Japan  and  remained  two 
years,  studying  not  only  Japanese  medicine  and  history, 
but  also  spreading  modern  medical  ideas.  From  tliat 
time  until  the  arrival  of  the  Dutch  government  physi- 
cian, Siebold,  who  established  a  modern  hospital  and 
medical  school  at  Nagasaki,  Japan's  progress  in  medi- 
cine, embracing  a  period  of  133  years,  was  all  her 
own. 

During  all  that  period  the  practice  of  medicine  was 
not  only  crude,  but  most  of  the  theories  upon  which 
it  was  founded  were  almost  grotesque.  The  Chinese 
School  in  the  twelfth  century  held  that  the  origin  of 
all  diseases  consisted  of  five  elements  and  six  senses. 
The  method  of  curing  the  afflicted  was  by  harmonizing 
the  factors.  Another  school  held  that  gas,  water  and 
fire  were  the  causes  of  disease,  and  that  the  best  method 
of  treatment  was  through  perspiration,  emetics  and 
laxatives.  Still  another  school  attributed  the  causes 
to  internal  and  external  discord  through  the  action 
of  the  elements,  arguing  that  there  is  a  superabundance 
of  health  in  the  positive  elements  and  a  great  diminu- 
tion of  health  in  the  negative  ones. 

Those  theories  held  sway  during  various  periods  of 
action  and  reaction  until  the  beginning  of  the  eight- 
eenth century,  when  a  celebrated  Japanese  physician, 

205 


THE  REAL  TRIUMPH  OF  JAPAN 

Yoshimasu,  decided  that  time  was  ripe  for  reform. 
His  personal  experiences  did  not  agree  with  existing 
theories.  He  thought  the  practical  and  not  the  theo- 
retical should  prevail.  He  attacked  both  the  Chinese 
and  Japanese  schools,  attributing  all  disease  to  a  poi- 
son, contending  that  all  medicines  should  be  poisons, 
and  advocating  the  similia  similibus  curantur  plan. 
The  way  to  overcome  poison  in  the  human  system,  he 
said,  was  to  fight  it  with  poison.  The  Japanese  physi- 
cians, schooled  as  they  were  in  Chinese  metaphysics, 
did  not  take  kindly  to  this  theory,  and  continued  to 
argue  that  the  principles  of  life  and  death  depended 
upon  the  movement  of  positive  and  negative  elements 
of  the  universe.  Yoshimasu's  son  continued  his  father's 
work  —  it  was  the  custom  to  hand  down  the  profession 
from  father  to  son  —  and  asserted  that  all  vitality 
came  from  the  circulation  of  the  blood  and  from  water, 
but  held  that  disease  did  not  come  from  one  poison 
alone,  as  his  father  believed,  but  from  many  poisons. 
He  continued  his  father's  theories  as  the  best  method 
of  treatment. 

Soon  arose  another  school,  which  might  be  called 
the  Chinese-Dutch  School.  Its  progenitor  was  an  emi- 
nent man,  Yamawaki,  who  was  imbued  with  the  spirit 
of  modern  science.  He  sought  the  truth  regardless  of 
its  source,  whether  from  China  or  Europe.  After  he 
had  been  dissecting  the  body  of  a  criminal,  he  discov- 
ered that  the  Chinese  ideas  of  anatomy  were  erroneous. 
Eclecticism  was  soon  in  full  sway  in  this  era  of  indi- 

206 


MEDICAL    SCIENCE    IN    JAPAN 

vidual  progress,  after  arrival  of  the  Dutch  and  the 
prohibition  of  the  importation  of  books.  As  a  result 
of  Yamawaki's  researches  in  anatomy,  he  wrote  a  work 
on  surgery  that  was  far  in  advance 'of  anything  then 
existing,  a  work  that  received  the  personal  approval 
not  only  of  the  Emperor,  but  of  the  Chinese  court. 
Kagawa,  one  of  the  most  famous  obstetricians  of  the 
century,  lived  at  that  period,  and  the  Japanese  assert 
to-day  that  his  book  "  San-Ron,"  a  treatise  on  mid- 
wifery, is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  in  the  world. 
His  disciple,  Hiruta,  became  obstetrician  to  the  court. 
A  third  famous  man  in  that  period  was  the  great 
surgeon  Hanaoka,  to  whom  reference  has  already  been 
made.  He  was  schooled  in  the  belief  that  gas,  fire  and 
water  caused  all  human  ills,  but  he  decided  to  make 
personal  investigations.  He  performed  surgical  opera- 
tions that  were  unknown  prior  to  that  time.  He 
treated  cancer,  stone  in  the  bladder,  abscesses  in  vari- 
ous parts  of  the  body  and  performed  amputations. 
Many  instruments  were  devised  by  him,  and  so  modern 
were  his  ideas  that  he  sterilized  those  instruments 
with  fire  and  wrapped  them  in  dried  gauze.  For  the 
purpose  of  performing  his  operations  he  invented  a 
narcosis  in  1796,  using  a  compound  of  four  plants,  the 
principal  of  which  was  conium,  by  which  he  stupefied 
his  patients.  The  drugs  usually  put  the  patients  to 
sleep  in  from  one  to  two  hours,  and  during  the  stupor 
Hanaoka  performed  the  operation.  To  arouse  the  pa- 
tient he  used  a  mixture  of  hot  tea  and  common  salt. 

207 


THE  REAL  TRIUMPH  OF  JAPAN 

To  illustrate  something  of  the  originality  and  the  dar- 
ing of  this  man  one  only  need  quote  from  his  writ- 
ings: 

"  If  we  permit  ourselves  to  be  biased  by  the  teachings 
of  the  ancients,  we  may  fail  to  understand  those  of  the 
men  of  to-day.  If  we  do  not  consider  the  internal  con- 
dition of  the  body,  how  can  we  treat  understandingly 
those  diseases  which  manifest  themselves  externally? 
Chinese  science  is  indeed  minute  or  accurate  in  prac- 
tice, but  is  restrained  by  the  theories  of  the  past. 
Therefore,  as  to  treatment,  I  look  to  the  living  body 
alone  for  indications,  seeking  for  the  mode  afterward 
from  philosophers.  I  am  consequently  not  restricted 
to  rules  in  giving  medicines,  but  act  as  necessity  de- 
mands. '  When  medicines  are  ineffective,  as  well  as 
acupuncture  and  the  moxa,  the  abdomen  and  back  may 
be  opened,  the  stomach  and  intestines  washed,  and 
whatever  is  likely  to  save  the  patient  may  be  at- 
tempted." 

The  physician  Nagata,  who  was  born  in  1512  and 
is  said  to  have  lived  until  1630,  was  the  progenitor  in 
Japan  of  the  mind-cure  cult  which  has  such  vogue  in 
modern  times.  He  allowed  his  patients  to  eat  what- 
ever they  craved  and  treated  most  of  them  without 
medicine.  In  conversation  he  strove  to  arouse  some 
feeling  of  indignation  or  passion,  usually  anger,  so 
that  when  they  became  thoroughly  aroused  they  forgot 
their  other  ailments.  Those  were  the  days  of  the 
expression  of  violent  rage  in  men,  and  it  is  possible 

208 


MEDICAL    SCIENCE    IN    JAPAN 

that  Nagata  obtained  better  results  than  his  followers, 
the  Christian  Scientists  of  to-day. 

Another  man  of  influence  in  that  era  was  Katsu- 
ragawa,  who,  having  heard  of  Harvey's  discovery  in 
1628,  proved  the  circulation  of  the  blood  by  binding 
one  of  his  arms  tightly  and  concealing  the  bandage 
while  he  asked  his  doubting  colleagues  if  they  could 
explain  the  peculiar  variation  of  his  pulse  as  shown 
at  his  wrists.  They  pronounced  him  dangerously  ill 
and  likely  to  die,  whereupon  he  revealed  the  hidden 
bandage. 

Many  medical  books  were  produced  during  that  era, 
one  of  which,  by  Takahisa,  was  on  forensic  medicine, 
and  another,  by  Ninomiya,  was  on  fractures  and  dis- 
locations. Kaibara  published  his  elaborate  treatise  on 
Japanese  botany,  dwelling  especially  upon  medicinal 
plants.  Wooden  models  of  skeletons  were  made  by 
Seoka  and  Hiraga,  who  also  designed  crude  electrical 
instruments.  A  great  medical  college  was  established 
in  Yeddo  with  pharmaceutical  laboratories  and  a  Japa- 
nese pharmacopoeia  was  compiled,  a  list  of  common  rem- 
edies being  printed  and  sent  broadcast  to  all  parts  of 
the  empire  for  use  by  the  common  people. 

From  this  evidence  it  will  be  seen  that  Kaempfer  was 
justified  in  his  summary  of  Japanese  medical  methods 
of  that  age,  as  printed  in  his  famous  "History  of 
Japan,"  when  he  said:  "They  are  more  expert  in 
physic  than  in  surgery,  at  least,  in  the  European  way 
of  treating  chirurgical  cases.  The  physicians,  how- 

209 


THE  REAL  TRIUMPH  OF  JAPAN 

ever,  do  not  load  their  patients  with  medicines.  They 
make  use  of  two  external  remedies,  fire  and  the  needle, 
both  of  which  are  thought  very  efficacious  for  the  eradi- 
cation of  the  causes  of  distempers  (which  they  call 
obstructions),  thus  allowing  the  obstructing  matter, 
the  cause  of  pain,  to  escape  from  its  prison." 

Before  the  arrival  of  Siebold  in  1823  a  wise  shogun, 
Yoshimune,  removed  the  restriction  upon  the  impor- 
tation of  foreign  books,  and  encouraged  the  develop- 
ment of  literature  and  the  sciencs.  In  1764  there 
appeared  the  first  translation  of  a  -Dutch  medical  book, 
entitled  "A  New  Book  on  Anatomy."  Before  that 
time  there  had  been  one  or  two  secret  translations  of 
medical  books  by  physicians  who  took  great  personal 
risks  and  experienced  many  hardships  in  the  prosecu- 
tion of  their  work. 

With  the  arrival  of  Siebold  all  was  changed,  how- 
ever, and  from  1823  to  1868  what  were  known  as  the 
Dutch  ideas  in  Japanese  medicine  had  full  sway.  The 
Emperor  had  a  physician  of  the  Dutch  School,  and 
the  shogun  established  a  Bureau  for  the  Translation 
of  Foreign  Books.  Medical  schools  sprang  up  through- 
out the  empire,  and  by  1842  dissection  was  common  in 
the  study  of  anatomy.  Five  years  later  a  work  on 
general  pathology  was  published.  In  Sakura  an  ex- 
tensive work  on  general  pathology  was  published,  and, 
under  the  directorship  of  Prof.  S.  Sato,  father  of  Dr. 
S.  Sato,  Surgeon-General  of  the  Army,  a  large  hos- 
pital was  opened  in  connection  with  a  school,  in  which 

210 


MEDICAL    SCIENCE    IN    JAPAN 

physics,  chemistry,  botany  and  other  fundamental  sci- 
ences for  the  study  of  medicine  were  taught. 

Then  came  a  brief  period  of  reaction,  the  last  effort 
to  check  the  spread  of  modern  medical  ideas.  The 
Tokugawa  shogunate,  under  pressure  from  the  old 
Chinese  and  Japanese  schools,  prohibited  the  spread 
of  Dutch  medicine,  but  the  arrival  of  Commodore 
Perry  changed  that;  for  the  days  of  the  shogun  were 
nearly  numbered,  and  the  period  of  the  Eestoration 
was  approaching.  The  Translation  Bureau  of  the  gov- 
ernment was  transformed  into  the  "  Institution  for 
the  Study  of  European  Affairs,"  where  matters  of  gen- 
eral education  as  well  as  political  institutions  were 
carefully  investigated.  The  result  was  the  establish- 
ment of  a  great  school  in  Tokio  which  reached  a  rapid 
development  after  the  fall  of  the  shogun  and  the  Kes- 
toration  of  the  Emperor  in  1868.  Dr.  William  Willis, 
an  English  surgeon,  was  engaged  as  the  first  professor 
of  medicine,  with  Japanese,  who  had  been  educated  by 
the  Dutch,  as  assistants.  As  a  result  of  investigations 
made  abroad,  it  was  decided  to  adopt  the  German 
methods  of  study  in  medicine  and  to  engage  German 
professors  for  the  college,  which,  under  the  favour  of 
the  Emperor,  was  now  in  a  flourishing  condition.  In 
1870  thirteen  medical  students  were  sent  to  Germany 
to  study  the  German  methods,  and  from  that  pilgrim- 
age dates  the  real  beginning  of  modern  medicine  in 
Japan. 

In  1877  the  medical  school  was  incorporated  with 
!5  211 


cT 

M 

• 

* 

"8 

e 

£ 

I 

o 

_c 

1C 
(C 

C 

§ 

« 

S 

«T     . 
tf   10 

sg 
5*: 

II 

1 

o 
o 

i 

s  Volunteer  Arn 

•s 

c 

J 

te 

_j£ 

1 
c 

b 

6 

ia 

03 

'sx 

3 

i 

1 

.a 

THE  AUTHO 

N     £> 

«l 

d 

M 
1 

imanders 

1 

CO 

"O 
o> 

(^ 

^ 
>— 

1 

s 

o 

73 
§ 

O 
H 

Q 
H 

S 

B 

"a 

i 

o 

^ 

W 

CO 

a 

O 

|3 

T; 

X 

E 

C 

CO 

M 

g 

I 

Manchurian  Army 

Seaman,  Surgeon, 

| 

•e 

c 

CO 

the  sanitary  wor 

O 

1 
"£. 

n 

HH 

CO 
CO 

EH 

0 

O 

— 

1 

£ 

^3 

S 

I 

o; 

j: 

Q 

•0 

2 

H 
<J 

Harbour-C 

officers  of 

o 
•2. 

'ti* 

ittached  to 

"H 
1 

T3 

•e 

i 

a; 

TT 
^ 

a 
o 

8   S 
g  2 

.2     ^» 

TKANSL 

tc 

1 

S     S 

§  a 

30 


.  -    „ 


D 
y; 
as 

i— i 

cc 
cc 

-SJ 


MEDICAL    SCIENTE    IN    JAPAN 

the  Imperial  University,  and  branches  were  estab- 
lished in  Kioto  and  Fukuoka.  German  professors  were 
engaged,  but  when  the  students  who  had  been  sent  to 
Germany  returned  they  gradually  assumed  the  chairs 
in  the  university,  and  since  1902  the  instruction  in  the 
Medical  Department  of  the  University  has  been  solely 
by  the  Japanese. 

The  country  has  produced  man}1  eminent  men  in 
medicine.  One  of  them  had  a  great  influence,  especially 
in  matters  relating  to  sanitation.  That  was  Nagayo, 
who  visited  Europe  and  America  one  year  after  the 
thirteen  students  whose  foreign  studies  were  to  have 
a  momentous  influence  upon  the  development  of  Japa- 
nese medicine.  Xagayo  went  abroad  to  study  national 
hygiene  and  sanitary  methods.  In  1873  he  established 
the  Medical  Bureau  of  the  Department  of  Education 
for  the  purpose  of  regulating  the  practice  of  medicine 
in  the  empire  and  for  improving  the  public  health.  He 
caused  the  enactment  of  a  law  requiring  examinations 
for  licenses  to  practise  medicine  and  pharmacy,  and 
laid  the  foundation  for  the  establishment  of  boards 
of  health  in  the  leading  cities  of  the  country.  He 
caused  regulations  regarding  vaccination  to  be  en- 
forced, and  established  in  Tokio  a  bureau  where  the 
virus  used  in  vaccinating  might  be  prepared  and  puri- 
fied. 

In  1876  Doctor  Xagayo  was  present  at  our  Centen- 
nial Exhibition  in  Philadelphia,  after  which  he  visited 
even-  State  of  the  Union  to  study  the  systems  in  vogue 

213 


THE  REAL  TRIUMPH  OF  JAPAN 

for  the  improvement  of  public  health.  During  his 
visit  he  made  arrangements  with  the  directors  of  pro- 
visional boards  of  health  for  the  exchange  of  their 
annual  reports,  a  custom  which  has  continued  to  the 
present  time  with  excellent  results.  Doctor  Nagayo 
became  the  President  of  the  Tokio  Medical  School  and 
also  retained  office  in  both  the  Educational  and  Home 
Departments  of  the  government.  In  the  various  epi- 
demics of  cholera  in  Japan  since  1877  his  services  were 
required  constantly.  He  soon  became  President  of  the 
Central  Sanitary  Board  of  the  empire  and  brought 
about  the  establishment  of  the  national  quarantine  sys- 
tem. He  also  secured  the  compilation  of  the  Japanese 
pharmacopoeia,  and  then  the  establishment  of  boards 
of  health  in  every  prefecture.  His  successor,  Goto, 
in  the  National  Sanitary  Bureau,  developed  that  great 
work,  improving  the  health  regulations,  increasing  the 
requirements  for  the  practice  of  medicine  and  encour- 
aging study  in  special  fields  of  research,  such  as  bac- 
teriology, histology  and  pathology.  Eminent  men  like 
Kitasato  and  Takaki  arose,  the  one  to  discover  the 
germs  of  the  bubonic  plague  and  tetanus,  and  the  other 
to  eradicate  beri-beri,  that  dread  of  Oriental  countries, 
from  the  navy  of  Japan.  Other  men  especially  skilled, 
like  Shiga,  the  discoverer  of  the  germ  of  dysentery, 
and  Sato,  eminent  in  surgery,  appeared,  and  at  the 
beginning  of  the  present  century  Japan  was  abreast  of 
the  world  in  her  modern  ideas  of  medicine,  while  in 
national  and  military  sanitation  and  in  certain  fields 

214 


MEDICAL    SCIENCE    IN    JAPAN 

of  bacteriology  she  was  among  the  foremost  countries 
of  the  world. 

Throughout  the  history  of  the  development  of  medi- 
cine in  Japan  there  has  been  patent  a  constant  desire 
to  absorb  everything  of  intrinsic  value  from  the  out- 
side world.  The  Japanese  trait  of  discarding  that 
which  is  valueless  and  of  assimilating  that  which  is 
of  sterling  worth  has  been  evident  at  every  age.'  The 
encouragement  to  the  study  of  sanitation  has  also  been 
striking,  and  the  relation  of  that  to  the  military  success 
of  the  nation,  where  preventable  diseases  in  both  army 
and  navy  have  been  reduced  almost  to  a  minimum,  are 
worthy  subjects  for  deeper  study. 


215 


CHAPTER   XII. 

MODERN   MEDICINE   AND   MILITARY   HYGIENE 

THE  return  of  Nagayo  Sensai  from  Europe  in 
1874  was  marked  by  the  creation  of  a  Sanitary 
Bureau  in  the  Department  of  Education,  the 
function  of  which  was  to  control  the  medical  affairs 
of  the  nation  in  their  widest  scope.  This  supervision 
included  national  sanitation  and  hygiene.  Nagayo 
formulated  a  set  of  regulations  consisting  of  seventy- 
six  articles,  eleven  of  which  provided  for  the  creation 
of  national  and  local  sanitary  boards ;  fifteen  prescribed 
the  courses  and  rules  for  medical  education;  twenty- 
six  for  the  methods  of  examination  and  the  issuing 
of  licenses  to  practise  medicine;  and  twenty-three  to 
the  examinations  for  apothecaries  and  regulations  for 
the  sale  of  drugs.  The  bureau  also  established  labora- 
tories in  the  five  leading  cities  of  the  land  for  the 
examination  of  drugs  and  foods. 

Medical  schools  attached  to  the  great  hospitals  in 
various  cities,  and  also  the  several  private  medical 
schools,  where  some  of  the  best  medical  instruction  in 
Japan  is  taught,  were  thus  brought  under  the  super- 
vision of  the  national  bureau. 

216 


MEDICINE    AND    MILITARY    HYGIENE 

Vaccine  farms  were  also  established  by  the  govern- 
ment under  the  supervision  of  this  bureau.  In  1876 
the  bureau  was  relieved  from  the  responsibility  of 
supervising  medical  education,  which  was  transferred 
to  the  Home  Department;  and  thereafter  its  jurisdic- 
tion was  confined  to  sanitary  affairs  exclusively. 

There  are  four  distinct  classes  of  institutions  of 
medical  instruction  in  Japan.  The  three  Universi- 
ties in  Tokio,  in  Kioto  and  in  Fukuoka  might  be 
called  schools  of  the  first  grade.  Then  come  the 
Higher  Medical  Schools,  the  post-graduate  instruction 
given  at  the  hospitals  in  the  great  cities.  These  are 
situated  in  Chiba,  Okayama,  Ishikawa  and  Nagasaki. 
The  next  grade  has  what  are  known  as  Provincial  Med- 
ical Schools,  the  outgrowth  of  the  former  schools,  as 
of  Kioto,  Aichi  and  Osaka.  The  fourth  class  embraces 
the  private  medical  schools.  In  addition  to  these,  there 
are  also  two  medical  schools  for  the  education  of 
women,  and  the  army  and  navy  medical  colleges,  where 
the  study  is  of  a  postgraduate  order,  with  special  ref- 
erence to  conditions  that  obtain  in  warfare. 

The  University  schools  owe  their  origin  to  the  medi- 
cal school  established  in  Tokio  at  the  time  of  the  Toku- 
gawa  shogunate.  In  1869  the  great  Shitaya  hospital 
was  united  with  the  latter  under  the  name  of  The 
Medical  College  and  Hospital.  In  1874  this  became 
known  as  the  Tokio  Medical  College,  and  in  1877,  by 
its  union  with  Tokio  University,  it  became  the  medical 
department  of  that  institution.  In  1886  the  Imperial 

217 


THE    REAL    TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 

University  succeeded  the  Tokio  University,  and  in 
1897  branches  of  the  Medical  Department  of  the  Uni- 
versity were  established  in  Kioto  and  Fukuoka,  the 
latter  really  a  branch  of  the  one  in  Kioto. 

The  curriculum  of  all  the  medical  schools  of  the 
country  is  practically  the  same  and  compares  favourably 
with  that  of  the  leading  medical  institutions  in  the 
world.  The  courses  of  study  each  cover  four  years, 
and  licenses  to  practise  are  granted  by  the  Home  De- 
partment to  those  who  pass  the  examinations  success- 
fully. Altogether  there  are  about  forty  thousand 
licensed  medical  practitioners  in  Japan,  about  twenty- 
four  thousand  of  whom  were  practising  physicians  be- 
fore the  present  regulations  were  enforced.  There  is 
also  a  system  of  examinations  by  the  state  for  those  who 
study  in  the  offices  of  physicians  instead  of  in  the 
class-rooms  of  the  medical  schools. 

The  Bureau  of  Sanitary  Affairs  in  the  Home  Depart- 
ment has  national  supervision  of  medico-sanitary  mat- 
ters. In  each  prefecture  and  in  the  prefectural  cities 
of  Tokio,  Kioto  and  Osaka  there  are  local  sanitary 
bureaus  all  reporting  to  the  national  board.  In  addi- 
tion to  these  boards  there  are  boards  of  health,  national 
and  local,  which  act  in  an  advisory  capacity.  Each 
of  these  boards  includes  among  its  members  eminent 
physicians,  one  or  more  chemists,  one  or  more  engineers 
and  invariably  a  member  of  the  local  police  department. 

The  National  Sanitary  Board  has  control  of  all  mat- 
ters pertaining  to  public  health,  including  the  inspec- 

218 


MEDICINE    AND    MILITARY    HYGIENE 

tion,  manufacture  and  sale  of  drugs  and  medicines; 
the  granting  of  permission  for  autopsies;  the  control 
of  the  sale  and  purity  of  foods,  beverages,  cosmetics 
and  dyes,  and  the  inspection  of  the  sanitary  condition 
of  water-supplies  and  of  tenements,  schools,  hospitals, 
jails,  theatres  and  other  public  places.  It  collects  vital 
statistics  and  in  case  of  epidemics  can  immediately 
put  in  force  drastic  regulations,  such  as  the  destruc- 
tion of  dwellings,  disposal  of  the  bodies  and  effects 
of  the  dead  and  the  establishment  of  special  quar- 
antines. 

This  National  Sanitary  Bureau  has  a  deep  influence 
upon  the  Japanese  people  directly.  It  has  numerous 
sub-bureaus,  the  chief  of  which  is  the  institute  for  the 
study  of  infectious  diseases,  of  which  Doctor  Kitasato 
is  the  head,  and  which  is  doing  the  most  important 
original  medical  work  in  Japan  to-day.  This  institute 
has  control  of  the  preparation  of  various  varieties  of 
sera,  including  the  preparation  of  vaccine  at  the  three 
government  vaccine  farms.  Its  work  has  a  direct  bear- 
ing upon  the  health  of  the  army,  as  will  be  demon- 
strated later  under  the  directions  of  the  Sanitary 
Board. 

During  my  stay  in  Tokio  the  surgeons  of  the  Police 
Department  were  making  over  six  hundred  microscop- 
ical examinations  of  rats  daily,  in  search  of  the  germs 
of  bubonic  plague,  as  a  few  sporadic  cases  of  the  dis- 
ease had  appeared  in  the  city.  The  specimens  were 
brought  from  various  localities  to  the  nearest  police 

219 


THE  REAL  TRIUMPH  OF  JAPAN 

station  by  the  people,  who  received  five  sen  for  each 
rat.  It  will  be  remembered  that  the  national  sanitary 
system  was  inaugurated  by  Nagayo,  but  it  was  not  fully 
developed  by  him.  For  that  great  work  Japan  is  in- 
debted to  Doctor  Goto,  who  is  now  president  of  the 
Board  of  Civil  Service  of  Formosa  and  the  Acting 
Administrator  of  that  island  during  the  absence  in 
Manchuria  of  General  Baron  Kodama,  the  brilliant 
genius  of  Oyama's  general  staff.  Goto  became  the  as- 
sistant of  Nagayo  in  1884  and  seven  years  later  suc- 
ceeded him.  He  it  was  who  established  in  all  the  cities 
the  sanitary  police  bureaus  which  cooperate  with  the 
local  boards  of  health.  He  also  established  the  system 
of  national  quarantines  and  the  special  military  quar- 
antines, which  prevented  the  importation  of  infectious 
diseases  by  the  returning  army  from  the  war  with 
China  in  1894.  He  also  improved  the  regulations  for 
the  sale  of  drugs  and  the  inspection  of  water-supplies. 
From  a  military  point  of  view  the  Japanese  regard 
the  quarantines  established  by  Goto  as  his  greatest 
achievement.  Cholera  and  plague,  as  well  as  typhoid 
and  dysentery,  had  seriously  afflicted  the  army  in  the 
China  campaign,  and  it  was  feared  the  returning  troops 
would  introduce  these  diseases  and  subject  the  nation 
to  the  danger  of  serious  epidemics.  Goto  established 
a  most  rigid  quarantine  station  on  the  island  of  Nlno- 
shima,  near  Hiroshima,  where  all  returning  troops 
were  temporarily  quartered  and  their  effects  fumigated. 
A  rigid  system  of  detention  was  enforced,  and  Goto 

220 


MEDICINE    AND    MILITARY    HYGIENE 

had  the  satisfaction  of  eradicating  infectious  diseases 
from  the  victorious  army  before  its  final  disbandment. 

He  also  founded  the  serum  and  the  vaccine-lymph 
institutes  in  Japan,  in  which  measure  he  was  ably  sec- 
onded by  the  talented  Kitasato,  under  whose  direction 
they  are  now  conducted.  It  was  Goto  also  who  estab- 
lished the  Temporary  Board  for  the  prevention  of  the 
spread  of  epidemics;  who  caused  a  new  compilation  of 
the  parmacopceia ;  who  reformed  the  system  of  exam- 
inations of  medical  practitioners;  who  drew  up  the 
ordinance  providing  for  the  instruction  of  trained 
nurses,  and  the  regulations  for  quarantines  at  various 
seasons  of  the  year.  In  this  work  he  was  assisted  by 
Dr.  Tai  Hasegawa,  who  as  a  member  of  parliament 
secured  the  passage  of  the  necessary  remedial  legisla- 
tion, and  was  one  of  the  pioneers  of  the  modern  medi- 
cine in  Japan,  and  for  a  long  time  was  president  of 
Saisei-Gakusha,  a  well-known  medical  school  of  Tokio. 

Doctor  Kitasato,  whose  discoveries  in  bacteriology 
gave  him  a  world-wide  reputation,  did  more  than  any 
other  man  to  make  Goto's  regulations  effective.  The 
manufacture  of  sera  to  prevent  the  spread  of  infectious 
disease  is  due  almost  solely  to  Kitasato' s  researches  and 
skill.  While  a  student  at  the  Medical  College  of  Tokio 
he  paid  special  attention  to  bacteriology,  and  after  grad- 
uation visited  Germany  under  the  patronage  of  the 
government  to  continue  his  studies  in  the  same  branch 
of  medicine.  Later  he  became  an  assistant  to  Dr. 
Robert  Koch,  of  Berlin,  in  the  study  of  infectious 

221 


THE  REAL  TRIUMPH  OF  JAPAN 

diseases,  and  in  1887  delivered  an  address  on  cholera 
in  Japan,  before  the  International  Medical  Congress 
at  Vienna,  which  attracted  the  attention  of  the  leading 
medical  men  of  Europe.  In  1889  he  discovered  the 
bacillus  of  tetanus  and  exhibited  it  at  the  medical 
congress  in  Germany  as  a  result  of  the  anaerobic  cul- 
ture, a  process  which  until  that  time  had  not  been 
known.  In  1890  he  made  public  his  antitoxin  discov- 
eries regarding  diphtheria  and  tetanus  and  thus  became 
a  pioneer  in  this  field. 

For  these  successes  and  for  his  assistance  to  Koch 
in  the  investigation  of  tuberculosis,  Kitasato  was  hon- 
oured by  the  Prussian  Government,  and  as  a  result  the 
Emperor  of  Japan  directed  him  to  remain  abroad  an- 
other year  to  continue  his  researches.  On  his  return 
he  established  his  institute  for  the  investigation  of 
infectious  diseases,  which  the  government  soon  adopted 
as  its  own,  Kitasato  being  appointed  director  to  con- 
tinue his  brilliant  work.  At  the  time  of  the  great 
epidemic  of  bubonic  plague  in  Hong  Kong  he  was 
detailed  to  proceed  thither  to  investigate  the  disease 
on  the  spot,  and  he  soon  succeeded  in  isolating  the 
bacillus.  During  the  course  of  this  work  Professor 
Aoyama  inoculated  himself  with  the  germs,  an  act 
which,  though  of  great  value  to  science,  nearly  cost 
Japan  the  life  of  its  eminent  investigator. 

Later  he  discovered  a  process  for  the  purifying  of 
vaccine,  so  the  danger  of  inoculation  with  other  infec- 
tious or  contagious  diseases  through  vaccine  was  elim- 

222 


MEDICINE    AND    MILITARY    HYGIENE 

inated.  This  was  accomplished  by  adding  carbolic  acid 
and  glycerine  to  the  vaccine  preparation.  He  also 
discovered  a  method  of  preserving  the  activity  of  vac- 
cine lymph  so  that  after  inoculation  from  cow  to  cow 
176  times  it  showed  no  diminution  of  its  virulence. 
Formerly  after  three  or  four  inoculations  it  became 
inert.  Eliminating  the  danger  from  vaccine  had  the 
additional  advantage  of  popularizing  vaccination  in 
the  empire,  and  as  a  result  all  persons  now  submit  to 
it  willingly.  Doctor  Kitasato  has  many  brilliant  assist- 
ants, among  whom  are  Doctor  Umeno,  who  discovered 
a  method  of  inoculating  calves  without  diminution  of 
the  virulence  of  the  vaccine;  Doctor  Shiga,  who  iso- 
lated the  bacillus  of  dysentery  and  discovered  the  serum 
with  which  to  combat  it;  Doctor  Kitashima,  whose 
investigations  of  antitoxins  place  him  in  the  rank  with 
Behring,  the  eminent  German  investigator  in  that  field ; 
and  Doctors  Asakawa  and  Ohno,  who  have  investigated 
the  nature  and  phenomena  of  bacilli  under  many  vary- 
ing conditions. 

To  every  studious  layman  a  visit  to  Kitasato's  labora- 
tories is  interesting.  At  present  the  institute  occupies 
two  establishments,  but  an  extensive  one  specially  de- 
signed for  scientific  research  is  now  in  process  of  con- 
struction, and  will  be  completed  next  year,  when  all 
the  departments  will  be  sheltered  under  one  roof.  In 
the  lecture-room  of  the  institution  for  postgraduate 
students  are  elaborate  diagrams  illustrating  the  various 
germs  of  infectious  disease,  bubonic  plague,  dysentery, 

223 


THE  REAL  TRIUMPH  OF  JAPAN 

anthrax,  diphtheria,  tetanus  and  typhoid,  with  speci- 
mens of  cultures.  Many  young  girls  are  employed  in 
the  laboratory,  where  from  three  hundred  to  four  hun- 
dred cultures  are  made  daily.  The  girls  are  especially 
skilful  in  handling  these  cultures  and  in  their  prepara- 
tion, and  many  assistants  are  engaged  in  microscopical 
work,  studying  specimens  and  preparing  slides. 

In  an  adjoining  building  a  large  number  of  animals 
are  kept  for  purposes  of  experimenting  with  the  sera, 
including  dogs,  goats,  rabbits,  monkeys,  guinea-pigs. 
and  mice.  It  is  a  veritable  menagerie.  A  few  blocks 
away  is  the  institution  where  various  sera  are  prepared 
in  liquid  and  dry  form.  This  establishment  and  one 
in  Osaka  are  the  only  places  where  sera  are  prepared 
for  shipment,  although  in  many  other  localities  cultures 
are  made  in  the  study  of  bacteria. 

Some  idea  of  the  work  done  in  the  institute  may  be 
gathered  from  the  statistics  of  a  year's  activity.  In 
1904,  55,000  bottles  of  diphtheria  antitoxia  serum  were 
prepared  there;  more  than  1,500  bottles  of  bubonic 
plague  therapeutic  serum  and  as  many  of  plague  pro- 
phylactic fluid ;  nearly  1,000  bottles  of  dysentery  thera- 
peutic serum;  125  of  erysipelas  antitoxins;  3DO  of 
typhoid  therapeutic  serum,  and  2,500  of  tetanus  serum. 
In  addition  over  450,000  capillars  were  filled  with  vac- 
cine lymph,  each  capillar  capable  of  vaccinating  five 
persons. 

All  this  work  had  a  most  direct  relation  to  the  war 
with  Russia,  for  no  less  than  335,000  capillars  for 

224 


vaccination  were  supplied  to  the  army  and  navy  in 
1904-5,  most  of  it  for  use  in  Manchuria,  where  small- 
pox is  endemic  among  the  Chinese.  More  than  three 
hundred  bottles  of  diphtheria  antitoxin  and  smaller 
quantities  of  sera  for  dysentery,  typhoid,  and  tetanus 
were  also  sent  to  the  army.  Investigations  of  dysenteric 
organisms  found  at  the  front  were  also  conducted  at 
the  Institution.  Kitasato's  assistants  succeeded  in 
getting  cultures  from  two  places  where  the  army  had 
been  in  Manchuria,  one  near  Yingkow  and  the  other 
near  Haicheng.  They  isolated  the  bacillus,  and  later 
a  Japanese  naval  surgeon  isolated  precisely  the  same 
bacillus  in  cultures  made  from  sick  Kussian  prisoners, 
a  fact  which  convinced  the  Japanese  medical  authori- 
ties that  the  dysentery  of  the  Japanese  army  was  the 
result  of  occupying  infected  places  vacated  by  the  re- 
treating Eussians.  Whether  the  Russians  or  the  natives 
had  the  disease  first,  the  Japanese  were  unable  to  say, 
but  the  identity  of  the  organisms  convinced  them  of  the 
danger  of  remaining  in  quarters  previously  occupied 
by  Muscovite  troops. 

In  addition  to  the  achievements  of  Kitasato,  Japan 
has  especial  reason  to  be  proud  of  the  work  of  anofher 
investigator,  who  received  his  postgraduate  training  in 
medicine  abroad,  Dr.  K.  Takaki,  renowned  for  his 
eradication  of  the  Oriental  disease  of  kakke,  or  beri-beri, 
from  the  navy  of  his  native  country.  This  accomplish- 
ment contributed  tremendously  to  Togo's  success  on 
the  sea,  for  it  gave  him  sound  men  behind  the  guns. 

225 


THE  REAL  TRIUMPH  OF  JAPAN 

In  the  troubles  with  Korea,  in  1882,  the  efficiency  of 
the  Japanese  navy  was  impaired  almost  fifty  per  cent, 
by  this  dread  disease,  and  Takaki's  triumph  in  overcom- 
ing it  is  one  of  the  brilliant  feats  in  modern  medicine. 
In  recognition  of  this  great  service  he  was  decorated  and 
made  a  baronet  by  His  Imperial  Majesty  the  Emperor, 
in  1905. 

Takaki  was  one  of  the  few  students  who  received  his 
medical  training  in  England,  where  his  work  attracted 
wide  attention  and  obtained  for  him  not  only  various 
medals,  but  a  fellowship  in  the  Eoyal  College  of  Sur- 
geons. He  is  the  President  of  the  Charity  Hospital  in 
Tokio  and  also  of  a  private  medical  school  in  connec- 
tion with  this  hospital,  where  a  large  part  of  the  in- 
struction is  in  English.  For  many  years  German  was 
the  language  of  the  medical  institutions  of  Japan,  and 
indeed  a  great  deal  of  the  instruction  is  in  that  tongue 
to-day,  but  Takaki  believes  that  English  is  to  be  the 
world-language  of  commerce,  diplomacy,  and  science, 
and  prefers  his  students  should  be  proficient  in  that 
language.  In  May  last  I  had  the  pleasure  of  attending 
a  meeting  of  the  second  year  class  of  this  school,  where 
every  word  spoken  was  in  English.  Papers  were  read 
on  the  physiology  of  breathing,  and  on  the  functions 
of  the  stomach  and  of  the  skin.  These  were  followed 
by  short  addresses  on  geography,  largely  for  the  pur- 
pose of  gaining  facility  in  the  use  of  the  language. 
Not  one  of  the  students  had  visited  England  or  America 
and  few  of  them  had  studied  English  before  entering 

226 


MEDICINE    AND    MILITARY    HYGIENE 

the  medical  school.  It  was  interesting  to  note  that  the 
grammatical  construction  of  their  papers  was  excellent. 

Occidental  languages  present  enormous  difficulties 
to  the  Japanese  mind.  There  is  nothing  in  common 
with  their  own  language  in  origin  or  grammatical 
construction.  The  study  of  medicine  is  sufficiently 
difficult  for  most  students ;  but  to  study  it  in  a  foreign 
language  like  English,  and  to  use  its  technical  terms 
correctly  is  a  task  that  would  stagger  students  of  almost 
any  other  land  than  Japan. 

With  the  return  of  her  medical  men  from  abroad 
and  with  the  rapid  advances  in  almost  every  branch  of 
science  that  Japan  was  making,  it  was  a  natural  step 
to  apply  the  results  of  their  researches  in  medicine 
and  sanitation  to  the  great  work  which  the  wise  men 
of  the  nation  saw  Japan  must  perform  in  the  field  of 
Mars.  When  hostilities  with  Korea  were  threatened, 
Japan  saw  her  navy  practically  prostrate  with  beri-beri, 
and  in  the  war  with  China  she  had  seen  the  ranks  of 
her  army  sadly  decimated  by  contagious  disease.  Her 
medical  men  had  impressed  upon  the  elder  statesmen 
that  to  be  successful  in  a  war  with  one  of  the  great 
modern  nations  she  must  limit  preventable  disease  in 
her  army  and  navy,  and  that  her  soldiers,  must  be  on 
the  firing  line  rather  than  in  hospitals. 

All  the  achievements  of  her  medical  scientists  and 

their  work  in  national  sanitation  were  utilized  in  this 

important  military  preparation.     With  a  population  of 

less  than  50,000,000  she  realized  the  hopelessness  of 

!<5  227 


THE  REAL  TRIUMPH  OF  JAPAN 

the  outcome  of  a  war  with  any  of  the  great  Western 
nations,  unless  every  possible  precaution  was  taken, 
and  every  available  resource  was  utilized;  and  so  the 
promotion  of  military  sanitation  became  a  national 
necessity  of  the  first  importance. 

The  first  book  on  military  sanitation  in  Japan  was 
a  pamphlet  written  by  a  physician  named  Hara,  in 
1854,  and  while  it  was  meagre  in  details,  it  was  broad 
in  scope,  and  proved  that  the  author  was  a  keen  student 
in  this  field,  which  was  destined  to  be  so  important 
to  the  future  welfare  of  the  nation.  It  treated  of  such 
subjects  as  camp  sanitation,  the  regulation  of  food  and 
drinks,  of  poisons  and  the  summary  treatment  of  emer- 
gencies. This  work  was  shortly  supplemented  by  an- 
other, the  work  of  a  physician  named  Hirano,  which 
treated  of  gunshot  and  sabre  wounds,  burns,  contagious 
and  infectious  diseases,  frost-bite,  drowning,  bruises. 
the  topography  of  camping  places  and  camp  sanitation. 
The  next  year  a  physician  named  Otsuki  published  a 
book  entitled  "  A  Word  on  Rifle  Wounds/'  which  was 
printed  by  the  special  permission  of  the  government  at 
a  time  when  the  publication  of  foreign  works  was  pro- 
hibited, owing  to  tie  complicated  diplomatic  relations 
then  existing  with  Occidental  countries.  An  elaborate 
treatise  on  this  subject  by  Kuga  followed  in  1867,  the 
year  before  the  Restoration,  and  for  the  first  time  at- 
tention was  called  to  the  need  of  improved  sanitation  in 
the  navy  as  well  as  in  the  army.  During  the  War  of 
the  Restoration  Dr.  William  Willis,  the  eminent 

228 


3  - 


3  o> 

73    o> 
£ 


.2      05 


s.  C 

P  O 

O  O 

—  o 


O 


MEDICINE    AND    MILITARY    HYGIENE 

English  surgeon  whose  name  is  indelibly  associated 
with  the  development  of  medicine  in  Japan,  established 
the  first  camp  hospital,  and  special  attention  was  paid 
by  the  government  to  medical  matters  relating  to  the 
military  establishment  immediately  after  the  close  of 
the  war.  Military  hospitals  were  erected  in  Yokohama. 
Osaka,  and  Yeddo  (Tokio),  and  in  1871  the  Military 
Surgeons'  College  was  opened.  The  following  year 
the  army  and  navy  departments  were  organized  sepa- 
rately, and  in  1874,  the  navy  had  its  separate  medical 
college.  In  the  brief  rebellion  of  1877  the  first  field 
hospitals  were  used  by  Surgeon-General  Hayashi,  who 
also  opened  the  base  hospital  in  Osaka  assisted  by  Sur- 
geons Ishiguro  and  Sato,  each  of  whom  afterward 
became  surgeon-generals  in  the  army  with  enviable 
records.  Army  sanitation  in  the  field  had  made  its 
first  appearance  in  Japan,  and  thus  began  the  work 
which  thirty  years  later  was  to  astonish  the  world. 

The  promotion  of  military  hygiene  and  sanitation  in 
the  broadest  scope  thenceforth  became  the  most  im- 
portant work  of  the  medical  colleges,  and  has  been 
crowned  with  a  degree  of  success  that  has  surprised 
the  military  wits  of  the  world,  and  has  driven  home  to 
other  nations  the  stupendous  lesson  that  preventable 
diseases  are  preventable  and  that  the  normal  condition 
of  troops  in  the  field  should  be  and  is  one  of  health. 

The  young  surgeons,  after  a  brief  service  with  the 
troops,  enter  the  army  medical  college,  where  for  six 
months  they  study  military  hygiene,  make  tests  of 

229 


THE    REAI^    TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 

water,  clothing,  and  food  supplies,  and  attend  clinics 
with  special  reference  to  gunshot  wounds  and  various 
injuries  incident  to  warfare.  Then  they  serve  three 
years  with  the  colours,  after  which  they  return  to  the 
college  for  another  course  of  a  year's  study,  when  micro- 
scopy and  bacteriological  work  are  given  special  atten- 
tion. They  also  investigate  the  newest  theories  and 
discoveries  in  medicine  and  especially  in  surgery.  While 
attendance  at  this  college  is  not  compulsory,  every  army 
surgeon  eagerly  avails  himself  of  this  opportunity  to 
improve  his  professional  education. 

At  the  Naval  Medical  College  the  newly  appointed 
surgeon  probationers  study  twelve  months  immediately 
after  their  admission  to  the  service,  the  work  being 
similar  to  that  taught  in  the  army  college.  They  serve 
four  years  at  sea  or  ashore  in  subordinate  positions, 
after  which  they  return  to  the  college  for  another  year 
of  study.  At  this  time  they  specialize  to  a  large  extent, 
and  thus  it  is  that  the  navy  has  experts  in  the  various 
branches  of  surgery  and  medicine  who  rank  with  spe- 
cialists in  civil  practice. 

There  was  some  attempt  at  special  medical  education 
in  the  navy  before  the  college  was  opened.  It  was  begun 
by  Mr.  William  Anderson,  F.  E.  C.  S.,  England,  whose 
position  bore  about  the  same  relation  to  the  navy  that 
Doctor  Willis's  did  to  the  army.  When  Doctors  Yo- 
shida  and  Takaki  returned  from  England,  however,  the 
Navy  Medical  College  was  opened.  The  Minister  of 
Marine  looked  kindly  upon  scientific  advancement,  and 

230 


MEDICINE    AND    MILITARY    HYGIENE 

unlike  many  cabinet  ministers,  especially  in  our  own 
country,  did  all  he  could  to  foster  the  application  of 
scientific  principles  in  the  way  of  sanitation  and  hy- 
giene in  the  navy.  The  result  was  the  brilliant  victory 
of  Surgeon-General  Takaki  over  beri-beri.  This  alone 
commanded  great  attention ;  and  from  that  day  the  mili- 
tary men  of  Japan  have  been  glad  to  welcome  the  sug- 
gestions of  the  surgeon  in  his  efforts  to  promote  the 
health  of  soldiers  and  sailors. 

Although  there  is  comparatively  little  danger  of  the 
introduction  of  any  infectious  disease  by  the  returning 
army  from  Manchuria,  the  precedent  set  by  Goto  has 
been  followed  and  the  regular  quarantine  service  at  the 
ports  of  Yokohama,  Kobe,  Nagasaki,  Moji  and  Hakodate 
have  not  only  been  strengthened,  but  no  less  than  twelve 
temporary  quarantine  stations  at  various  ports  of  entry 
have  been  established,  so  that  every  person  returning 
from  the  field  must  undergo  careful  inspection  and  fumi- 
gation of  his  clothing,  and  he  may  be  detained  if  neces- 
sary. That  this  system  is  most  complete  and  effective 
is  a  fact  of  which  the  writer  has  personal  knowledge. 
Although  he  had  been  at  the  front,  with  all  the  privi- 
leges of  a  foreign  attache,  he  was  obliged  to  undergo 
the  usual  inspection  when  he  reached  the  port  of  Ujina 
on  his  return.  While  minor  details  were  waived,  the 
spirit  of  close  examination  was  observed  to  the  limit, 
indicated  by  the  fumigation  of  clothing  and  baggage 
and  the  disinfection  of  his  person  by  means  of  a  specially 
prepared  bath.  The  Ujina  quarantine  station  is  on  a 

231 


THE  REAL  TRIUMPH  OF  JAPAN 

separate  island  in  the  harbour  and  consists  of  a  well- 
equipped  series  of  buildings  capable  of  caring  for  sev- 
eral thousand  troops  at  once.  Every  device  for  the 
application  of  scientific  quarantine  is  at  hand  and  no 
effort  is  lacking  to  carry  out  its  purposes  and  prevent 
diseases. 

Thus  it  is  seen  that  enormous  strides  have  been  made 
by  the  Japanese  in  medical  research  and  achievement. 
From  their  earliest  history  they  have  eagerly  accepted 
every  real  advance,  and  through  the  application  of  their 
acquirements  in  medicine  and  sanitation  to  their  mili- 
tary establishments  they  have  utilized  a  mighty  power 
for  the  preservation  of  the  nation. 


232 


CHAPTEE   XIII. 

BERI  -  BERI 

BERI  -  BERI  is  a  disease  limited  almost  entirely 
to  tropical  and  subtropical  countries,  especially 
of  the  Orient.  The  etiological  factor  which  causes 
the  disease  has  not  yet  been  positively  determined,  but 
it  is  the  consensus  of  opinion  of  those  who  have  studied 
the  disease  in  its  various  manifestations,  and  the  condi- 
tions under  which  it  appears,  that  it  is  of  specific  origin ; 
that  the  organism  which  causes  it  is  introduced  into  the 
body,  probably  by  the  mouth,  and  its  propagation  gen- 
erates a  toxin  which  causes  degenerative  changes  in  the 
peripheral  nerves.  It  manifests  itself  in  a  peripheral 
neuritis,  usually  multiple,  with  consequent  sensory  and 
motor  palsies,  the  heart  being  in  the  majority  of  cases 
likewise  affected. 

It  presents  itself  in  various  forms  clinically:  the 
atrophic  or  dry,  the  oedematous  or  wet,  and  the  acute 
pernicious. 

The  atrophic  form,  after  the  appearance  of  the  pro- 
dromata,  begins  with  numbness  and  formication  in  the 
extremities,  the  lower  being  more  frequently  affected 
than  the  upper.  This  is  gradually  succeeded  by  paraly- 

233 


THE    REAL    TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 

sis,  both  sensory  and  motor,  of  certain  groups  of  mus- 
cles, the  extensors  being  more  frequently  affected  than 
the  flexors. 

The  redematous,  or  wet  type  of  the  disease,  is  similar 
in  its  advent  -and  progress  to  the  atrophic  form,  but  has 
added  to  it  cardiac  disturbances  with  dropsy. 

The  pernicious  form  of  the  disease  attacks  chiefly 
the  young  and  is  rapid  in  its  progress;  cardiac  symp- 
toms appear  early  in  the  disease  and  are  well  marked. 
No  specific  remedy  has  been  discovered  for  its  treat- 
ment, cathartics,  diuretics,  and  stimulants  being  the 
most  popular  remedies  employed. 

Medical  opinions  vary  as  to  the  cause  of  the  disease. 
That  it  has  a  direct  relation  to  food  is  admitted  by  all 
authorities,  and  as  it  only  occurs  among  those  races 
which  make  rice  their  chief  staple,  the  question  among 
experts  is  whether  the  rice  alone  or  some  fungus  or 
toxin  of  rice  is  the  exciting  cause.  The  disease  is  un- 
doubtedly endemic  and  has  been  called  by  some  authori- 
ties a  "  place  "  disease.  On  the  other  hand,  it  has  been 
ascribed  to  deficiency  in  the  nitrogenous  elements  of 
food  with  an  excess  of  the  carbohydrates.  Be  that  as 
it  may,  the  fact  remains  that  this  disease  occurs  in 
endemic  form  and  only  among  rice-eating  peoples,  whose 
dietary  is  deficient  in  nitrogen.  Baron  Takaki  attrib- 
utes it  solely  to  an  improper  or  insufficient  dietary,  of 
which  rice  is  the  principal  component,  resulting  in  an 
improper  proportion  of  carbon  to  nitrogen  in  the  food. 
This  view  coincides  with  that  held  by  Dr.  Irvine  Rowel, 

234 


BERI  -  BERI 

and  is  the  general  opinion  now  held  in  Japan,  and  with 
good  reason. 

Doctor  Takaki,  as  Surgeon-General  of  the  Imperial 
Navy,  acting  upon  this  theory,  completely  eliminated 
the  disease  from  that  branch  of  the  military  service. 
He  holds  that  neither  meteorological  conditions  nor 
foul  surroundings  have  any  serious  relation  to  the  ail- 
ment. He  regards  its  frequent  appearance  in  pregnant 
women  as  due  to  the  fact  that  in  that  condition  they 
forego  nitrogenous  food  in  Japan,  living  chiefly  on  soft 
boiled  rice,  but  this  custom  is  being  gradually  changed. 
The  disease  is  not  common  among  children,  although 
he  has  seen  a  few  cases.  It  occurs  most  frequently  in 
summer,  and  this  Doctor  Takaki  thinks  is  because  at 
this  season  the  Japanese  live  on  a  light  diet,  consisting 
almost  exclusively  of  rice. 

The  work  of  Takaki  in  eradicating  this  disease  from 
the  navy  furnished  a  brilliant  page  in  Japan's  medical 
history.  In  1880,  when  he  was  Deputy  Medical  Inspec- 
tor General,  he  noticed  the  great  disproportion  between 
the  number  of  cases  occurring  on  war-ships  and  those 
in  barracks.  He  thought  this  might  result  from  the 
difference  between  the  food  supplied  aboard  ships  and 
that  supplied  ashore.  Acting  upon  this  belief,  he  made 
an  analysis  of  the  naval  dietary  and  came  to  the  con- 
clusion that  the  proportion  of  carbohydrates  in  the  food 
was  in  excess  of  the  requirements  and  that  the  proteids 
were  deficient.  In  February,  1882,  he  was  appointed 
Vice  Medical  Director  of  the  Navy.  Shortly  thereafter 

235 


THE  REAL  TRIUMPH  OF  JAPAN 

he  issued  a  blank  form,  upon  which  medical  officers 
were  directed  to  record  the  different  forms  of  the  dis- 
ease, as  they  observed  them;  from  these  he  drew  his 
conclusions  and  then  presented  a  memorial  in  regard 
to  preventive  measures.  He  continued  his  investigations 
of  different  foods  in  relation  to  this  disease,  and  on 
November  22,  1882,  he  had  a  personal  interview  with 
the  Emperor,  to  whom  he  set  forth  his  theories  as  to 
the  cause  and  the  remedy  to  be  adopted  in  order  to  cure 
the  disease.  Previous  to  1881,  the  number  of  cases  of 
beri-beri  in  the  navy  was  about  three-fourths  of  the 
entire  cases  of  illness.  In  1882,  when  there  was  a  pros- 
pect of  war  with  Korea,  most  of  the  crews  of  the  five 
largest  ships  of  war  in  the  Japanese  navy  were  pros- 
trated with  the  disease,  and  it  was  a  serious  question 
whether  the  navy  would  be  of  any  use  in  case  war  should 
break  out.  The  victims  often  suffered  from  three  to 
four  times  a  year  from  the  disease. 

In  1883,  the  cruise  of  the  Japanese  war-ship  Ryujo 
brought  the  beri-beri  trouble  to  a  crisis  in  the  navy. 
This  vessel  made  a  voyage  of  271  days  to  New  Zealand 
and  South  America,  stopping  at  the  ports  of  Wellington, 
Valparaiso,  Callao  and  Honolulu.  There  developed  on 
the  voyage  one  hundred  cases  of  the  disease  out  of  less 
than  350  persons  on  board.  An  alarming  situation  of 
affairs  presented  itself,  and  Takaki  determined  to  grap- 
ple with  it  boldly.  He  was  fortunate  in  securing  the 
cooperation  of  Count  Kawamura,  the  Minister  of  Ma- 
rine, and  he  determined  to  send  another  ship  over  pre- 
236 


BERI - BERI 

cisely  the  same  course  and  under  the  same  conditions, 
so  far  as  they  could  be  duplicated.  The  Taukuba  was 
selected  for  this  voyage,  and  a  commission  of  medical 
men  participated  in  the  cruise  for  the  purpose  of  study- 
ing beri-beri.  This  voyage  was  taken  at  the  same  season 
of  the  year  as  when  the  Ryujo  made  her  trip.  The 
time  occupied  was  287  days  and  the  same  ports  were 
visited  with  a  similar  number  of  days'  stay  at  each  port. 

When  the  Ryujo  reached  Honolulu  on  her  return  trip 
home,  she  had  125  cases  of  beri-beri  on  board.  When 
the  Taukuba  reached  there,  she  had  three  cases.  The 
total  number  of  cases  that  developed  on  the  Taukuba 
were  sixteen  as  compared  with  160  cases  on  the  Ryujo 
the  year  before.  When  Doctor  Takaki  received  a  cable- 
gram from  Honolulu  saying  that  beri-beri  had  practi- 
cally not  existed  on  the  ship  (for  many  of  the  cases  were 
so  slight  as  scarcely  to  be  worthy  of  notice),  he  was 
jubilant  and  greatly  relieved.  He  had  sent  the  Taukuba 
out  under  a  new  diet  scale,  avoiding  the  excessive  use 
of  rice,  and  the  result  proved  the  accuracy  of  his  theory. 

He  had  previously  asked  for  the  appointment  of  a 
commission  to  investigate  the  disease  and  had  received 
no  less  than  10,465  answers  to  questions  that  he  had 
sent  out.  Success  attended  his  efforts  and  from  the 
time  of  the  return  of  the  Taukuba,  the  work  of  elim- 
inating beri-beri  from  the  navy  was  pursued  and 
crowned  with  success;  so  that  during  the  war  with 
Eussia  the  navy  was  entirely  free  from  it,  while  the 
army  suffered  considerably. 

237 


THE  REAL  TRIUMPH  OF  JAPAN 

This  was  the  diet  on  the  Taukula: 

Bice,  648  grams,  or  Sugar,  76  grams 

Bread,  600  grams,  or  Miso,  a  kind  of  bean  sauce,  60 

Sea  biscuit,  490  grams  grams 

Fish,  16  grams  Flour,  76  grams 

Vegetables,  450  grams  Beans,  46  grams 

Milk,  46  grams  Pickled  Vegetables,  76  grams 
Meat,  300  grams 

In  addition  sixty  grams  of  "  shoyu,"  a  kind  of  pea 
sauce,  fifteen  grams  of  fat,  a  gram  of  salt,  tea  and 
vinegar,  and  ninety  grams  of  "  sake,"  a  Japanese  liquor, 
were  allowed.  According  to  Baron  Saneyoshi,  the  pres- 
ent Medical  Director  General  of  the  Navy,  the  nutritive 
value  of  this  daily  ration  was  equal  to  775  grams  of  car- 
bohydrates, forty-three  grams  of  fat  and  196  grams  of 
proteids.  The  results  proved  it  to  be  a  remarkable 
improvement  on  the  old  diet. 

This  was  the  diet  that  was  supplanted : 

Rice,  782  grams  Pickled  Vegetables,  145  grams 

Fish,  96  grams  Fresh  Vegetables,  215  grams 

Beef,  73  grams  Sugar,  18  grams 

Miso,  16  grams 

The  nutritive  value  of  this  ration  amounted  to  622.32 
grams  of  carbohydrates,  15.8  grams  of  fat  and  109.29 
grams  of  proteids.  It  is  of  this  ration  that  Baron  Sane- 
yoshi had  said :  "  This  falls  far  short  of  the  nutritive 
value  of  foods,  as  estimated  by  Voit,  that  is  five  hundred 
grams  of  carbohydrates,  fifty-six  grams  of  fat  and  118 

238 


BERI - BERI 

grams  of  proteids.  These  amounts  are  those  laid  down 
by  him  for  a  man  of  154  to  160  pounds,  working  at 
moderately  hard  labour  taking  nine  or  ten  hours  a  day. 
And  if  compared  with  the  minimum  quantity  of  the 
nutritive  value  of  the  food  needed  by  a  man  working  at 
hard  labour  the  same  length  of  time  —  that  is  five  hun- 
dred grams  of  carbohydrates,  one  hundred  grams  of  fat 
and  145  grams  of  proteids  —  it  shows  a  still  greater 
deficiency. 

"  The  diet  of  our  navy  compared  badly  with  that  of 
European  countries,  but  the  sanitary  conditions  of  our 
ships  were  not  inferior  to  those  of  European  nations, 
for  most  of  them  had  been  constructed  in  America, 
England  or  other  European  countries,  and  were  equally 
well  equipped,  the  daily  exercise  and  work  of  our  sea- 
men being  identical  with  that  of  the  English  Navy.  Our 
seamen  are  also  provided  with  clothing  and  beds  similar 
to  those  of  the  West.  Despite  these  facts  we  never  heard 
of  the  breaking  out  of  beri-beri  on  any  European  war- 
ship sent  to  the  East  —  to  our  waters.  The  crews  of 
foreign  ships  floated  on  the  same  waters,  exposed  them- 
selves to  the  same  climate  as  ours,  and  they  lived  in 
similar  ships,  engaging  in  the  same  tasks,  so  that  there 
was  no  other  difference  between  our  ships  and  the  Eu- 
ropean but  the  diet.  Consequently,  the  other  conditions 
of  life  being  the  same,  we  naturally  sought  the  cause 
of  the  disease  first  in  the  diet." 

Note  now  the  result  of  the  change  in  the  navy  in 
the  record  of  beri-beri  after  this  improvement  in  the 

239 


THE  REAL  TRIUMPH  OF  JAPAN 

ration  was  made.  Here  is  the  record,  divided  into  two 
parts  from  1878  to  1884,  when  the  change  was  made, 
and  from  1884  to  1889,  an  equal  portion  of  six  years :  — 

FIRST  PERIOD   OF   SIX  YEARS 


Year 

Force 

Cases  of  Kakki 

Ratio  of  Kakki  per 
100  of  Force 

1878 

4,628 

1,485 

32.80 

1879 

6,081 

1,978 

38.93 

1880 

4,966 

1,725 

34.81 

1881 

4,641 

1,163 

25.06 

1882 

4,769 

1,929 

40.45 

1883 

6,346 

1,623 

23.12 

SECOND  PERIOD   OF  SIX  YEARS 


Year 

Force 

Kakki  Cases 

Ratio  of  Kakki  per 
100  of  Force 

1884 

5,638 

718 

12.44 

1885 

6,918 

41 

0.69 

1886 

8,475 

3 

0.04 

1887 

9,106 

0 

0.00 

1888 

9,184 

0 

0.00 

1889 

8,954 

3 

0.03 

That  is  to  say,  about  one-third  of  the  entire  strength 
of  the  navy  had  heen  afflicted  with  the  disease  during 
the  years  from  1878  to  1883,  hoth  included,  while  dur- 
ing the  second  period  of  six  years,  viz.  from  1884  to 
1890,  both  included,  but  one  sixty-third  were  so  affected, 
the  annual  rates  per  thousand  of  mean  strength  being 
324  and  15.8  respectively. 

Moreover,  the  765  cases  of  the  second  period  were  not 
240 


BERI  -  BERI 

distributed  evenly  over  the  six  years,  for  718  of  the  cases 
appeared  in  1884,  the  very  year  the  change  in  the  diet 
was  made.  If  this  latter  year  be  excluded,  the  annual 
rate  per  thousand  of  mean  strength  for  the  remaining 
five  years  (1885  to  1889  inclusive)  would  be  but  a  little 
more  than  one  per  cent.  (1.1  per  cent.)  By  1887  not 
a  single  case  of  the  disease  existed  in  the  navy,  and  from 
that  time  on  its  appearance  was  only  occasional,  the 
largest  number  of  cases  being  in  1894,  when  there  were 
twenty-nine  victims  of  the  disease.  Constant  improve- 
ment in  the  diet,  by  resorting  to  slight  variations,  was 
made,  and  since  1900  there  have  not  been  a  dozen  cases 
in  the  navy,  notwithstanding  the  enormous  increase  in 
its  strength.  Baron  Saneyoshi,  the  present  medical  head 
of  the  navy,  is  the  authority  for  the  statement  that 
during  the  war  with  Russia  no  case  has  appeared  in  the 
floating  force  of  over  twenty-five  thousand  men.  To 
illustrate  the  value  of  this  change  of  ration  in  another 
way,  it  may  be  mentioned  that  in  ten  years  the  average 
weight  of  the  sailors  has  increased  from  52,500  grams 
to  58,500. 

It  was  with  great  personal  satisfaction,  therefore,  that 
Director  General  Takaki  reported  personally  to  his  Maj- 
esty the  Emperor,  on  October  16,  1890,  the  great  success 
in  eliminating  beri-beri  from  the  navy  which  ensued 
from  the  change  in  the  ration,  and  that  hereafter  there 
would  be  no  reason  why  Japan  should  longer  dread  the 
ravages  of  this  silent  foe. 

In  view  of  that  unquestioned  success  in  eradicating 
241 


THE    REAL    TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 

this  disease  from  the  navy,  the  reluctance  of  the  army 
authorities  to  adopt  a  ration  that  had  been  tried  with 
so  much  success  was  all  the  more  surprising.  In  Febru- 
ary last,  however,  the  number  of  cases  in  the  army  had 
become  so  alarming  that  General  Terauchi,  the  Minister 
of  War,  under  the  guise  of  economy,  as  has  been  related, 
ordered  a  change  in  the  army  ration,  by  which  a  mixture 
of  rice  and  barley,  seven  parts  of  rice  to  three  parts 
of  barley,  was  issued  to  the  troops  instead  of  pure  rice. 
The  mixture  is  known  as  "  black  rice,"  from  the  dark 
specks  in  it.  At  first  the  soldiers,  like  the  sailors,  did 
not  take  kindly  to  the  new  ration,  but  according  to  the 
unanimous  testimony  of  the  army  medical  authorities, 
an  immediate  change  for  the  better  took  place,  a  testi- 
mony confirmed  by  the  diminishing  number  of  cases  at 
the  season  of  the  year  when  the  disease  is  most  preva- 
lent. 

The  following  was  the  ration  in  the  army  prior  to  the 
above  change :  — 

REGULAR  RATION 


MATERIAL 

QUANTITY 

Chief  Food 

Rice  -^ 

6  go 

Canned  Meat     .... 

40  momme 

Dried  Vegetables       ... 

.        30  momme 

Pickled  Plum     .... 

.        10  momme 

Substitute 

Soup  Extract     .... 

.          6  momme 

Food 

Powdered  Miso  .... 

.          5  momme 

Salt    

Tea    

242 

BERI  -  BERI 

ALTERNATIVE    RATION 


MATERIAL 

QUANTITT 

One 

Bread       

0                   f 

270  momme  V 

of 

Hardtack          .... 

180  momine  ) 

these 

Fresh  Meat  without  Bone 

40  momine  ] 

Fresh  Meat  with  Bone 

60  momme  1 

One 

Dried  Salt  Meat 

.          30  momme  [ 

of 

Eggs         

40  moniuie  J 

these 

Fresh  Vegetables 

120  momme 

Salted  Plum      .... 

15  momme 

Soup  Extract    .... 

.            4  momme 

Miso          

20  momine 

Salt           

3  momme 

Sugar        

.            3  momme 

Tea           

1  momme 

(1  go  equal  to  100  momme.) 

The  ration  as  issued  to  the  Japanese  soldier  in  the 
field  was  as  follows :  — 

RATIOH    FOR    ONE    DAT 

1  go  of  rice  and  barley,  mixed  (7  parts  of  rice  to  3  parts  of  barley) 

1  can  of  beef,  40  momme,  or 

a  similar  amount  of  fresh  beef,  or 
a  similar  amount  of  pickled  fish,  or 
pork  instead  of  beef,  with  an  addition  of 
some  vegetables  (potatoes,  onions,  etc.),  and 
some  Japanese  soup  (mido-shiru) 

2  or  3  eggs,  and  sometimes  more,  if  the  supply  could  be  found 
1  go  of  sak6  (Japanese  wine) 

The  extra  eggs  are  given  to  counteract  the  danger 
of  beri-beri,  chiefly.    As  to  its  wholesomeness,  the  writer 
can  testify  from  personal  observation. 
17  243 


THE  REAL  TRIUMPH  OF  JAPAN 

EMERGENCY    RATION    (FIGHTING    OK    MARCHING)    FOB   TWO   DATS 

12  go  of  hoshii  (glutinous  rice,  boiled  and  dried,  to  be  reboiled 
when  used,  if  possible) 

2  cans  of  beef,  40  momme  each 

2  packages  of  table  salt 
12  packages  of  hardtack,  each  package  containing  four  crackers 

EMERGENCY    RATION    FOR   THREE    DATS 

6  go  of  rice  and  barley,  mixed 
12  go  of  hoshii 

2  cans  of  beef 

2  packages  of  table  salt 
12  packages  of  hardtack 

There  were  two  grades  of  hardtack,  one  called  kago, 
for  the  officers,  and  one  called  otsugo,  for  the  men.  The 
difference  was  in  the  grade  of  flour,  the  darker  colour 
being  used  for  otsugo. 

It  may  be  interesting  to  quote  the  article  in  the  Naval 
Regulations  of  Japan  regarding  the  ration :  — 

"  The  articles  of  food  shall  be  as  follows :  —  rice, 
bread,  beef  (fresh  or  preserved),  salted  beef,  salted  pork, 
fowl  or  eggs,  fish,  miso,  shoyu,  vegetables,  beans,  wheat 
flour,  tea,  fats  and  oils,  sugar,  milk,  vinegar,  spices, 
alcoholic  liquors,  salt  and  pickles." 

What  the  final  result  of  that  change  of  ration  for  the 
army  will  be  remains  to  be  seen.  The  naval  officials  are 
especially  interested  in  it  and  are  confident  that  it  will 
sustain  their  contention  that  beri-beri  can  be  prevented. 
So  sure  is  Baron  Takaki  that  his  theory  is  right  that 
he  does  not  hesitate  to  say  that  he  could  produce  beri- 
beri by  diet  alone,  and  that  he  could  cure  a  case  and 

244 


BERI  -  BERI 

prevent  a  relapse  by  diet  alone.  If  the  disease  shall 
be  eliminated  from  Japan's  army  it  will  add  vastly  to 
the  strength  of  this  militant  people,  and  will  confer 
a  boon,  not  only  upon  that  nation,  but  upon  mankind, 
especially  in  the  Orient.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  the 
present  war  will  prove  the  death-knell  of  beri-beri  as 
a  scourge. 

The  vulnerable  spot  in  Japan's  campaign  against 
preventable  disease  was  the  failure  to  overcome  beri-beri 
in  the  army,  and  dearly  did  she  pay  the  penalty.  Almost 
one-half  of  the  sickness  in  her  army  was  from  that  dis- 
ease. The  estimate  of  the  number  of  cases  —  24.3  per 
cent,  of  the  entire  sick  and  wounded  —  show  that  they 
amounted  to  the  enormous  total  of  84,545. 

That  failure  was  the  exception  which  proved  the  rule 
of  her  wisdom  in  the  use  of  reformed  army  sanitation 
and  dietary  as  a  means  of  securing  triumph  on  the  field 
of  war.  Had  it  not  been  for  the  presence  of  the  dread- 
ful scourge,  the  story  of  her  achievements  in  army  die- 
tary and  sanitation  would  have  been  a  dazzling  revela- 
tion. As  it  is,  its  brilliancy  challenges  the  admiration 
of  the  world,  and  the  unfortunate  blot  simply  intensifies 
the  whiteness  of  the  page. 

All  the  more  lamentable  was  that  failure  to  prevent 
the  ravages  of  beri-beri  in  the  army  in  view  of  the  fact 
that  she  sinned  against  her  own  light;  and,  speaking 
in  all  kindness,  the  sin  may  be  characterized  as  almost 
wilful.  For  Japan  knew  how  to  prevent  that  disease, 
and  is  proving  it  by  her  work  of  repentance.  An  earlier 

245 


THE  REAL  TRIUMPH  OF  JAPAN 

change  in  the  ration  (the  substitution  of  barley  for  a 
portion  of  the  rice)  would  have  accomplished  it.  That 
change  was  made,  but  not  until  after  the  mischief  had 
been  done. 

Japan  had  already  eliminated  beri-beri  from  her  navy. 
The  adoption  of  the  methods  used  in  the  navy  would 
undoubtedly  have  saved  thousands  of  men  to  the  firing 
line.  And  the  pity  is,  that  with  all  that  knowledge  and 
experience  her  War  Department  set  its  face  against  the 
light ;  and  for  what  reason  ?  The  old,  old  reason,  — 
the  reason  that  has  cost  many,  many  thousands  of  lives 
in  other  campaigns  by  other  nations,  —  professional 
jealousy  between  the  army  and  navy;  one  of  the  same 
reasons  that  really  brought  on  our  own  costly  and  un- 
necessary war  in  the  Philippines. 

English  ideas  prevail  in  the  Japanese  navy,  and  Ger- 
man ideas  hold  sway  in  her  army.  The  army  was  will- 
ing to  admit  that  beri-beri  had  been  eradicated  from  the 
navy,  as  the  overwhelming  fact  could  not  be  disputed, 
nor  could  the  means  by  which  it  was  accomplished  be 
denied.  But  they  were  unwilling  to  admit  that  the 
methods  employed  by  the  navy  would  bring  the  same 
results  in  the  army.  They  argued  that  campaigning 
on  land  was  vastly  different  from  campaigning  on  ship- 
board. On  ships,  the  men,  as  a  rule,  have  dry,  com- 
fortable places  in  which  to  sleep;  have  their  commis- 
sariat and  medical  supplies  always  with  them ;  are  not 
exposed  to  the  trials  and  exhaustion  of  long  marches 
and  the  vicissitudes  of  extreme  heat  and  cold  and  dan- 

246 


BERI  -  BERI 

gers  from  defective  camp  sanitation.  All  of  which  is 
true.  But  it  should  have  emphasized  the  fact  that  if 
the  navy  had  found  a  means  of  preventing  this  scourge 
which  had  always  existed  in  Japan's  military  forces, 
and  which  the  army  knew  must  appear  among  her  sol- 
diers, with  consequences  that  might  be  most  serious,  it 
was  the  more  incumbent  upon  the  army  to  give  the  naval 
theories  a  thorough  test  on  land.  Indeed  it  was  utterly 
unlike  the  spirit  of  Japan  not  to  have  done  so,  and  makes 
this  chapter  of  her  history  all  the  more  pathetic. 

Officers  of  the  navy  repeatedly  urged  those  of  the  army 
to  make  a  change  in  the  ration,  and  the  spirit,  which,  in 
polite  phrase,  may  be  called  conservatism,  rejected  the 
advice.  Largely  upon  the  ground  of  economy,  the  navy 
was  originally  induced  to  make  the  change  which  elim- 
inated the  disease  on  Japan's  ships.  And  finally,  when 
thousands  upon  thousands  of  Japan's  soldiers  lay  in 
her  hospitals,  from  the  Manchurian  front  to  the  rear 
at  Tokio,  when  the  loss  of  the  services  of  these  trained 
soldiers,  unnecessary  victims  of  disease,  was  a  menace 
to  the  success  of  her  arms,  the  army  yielded.  In  Febru- 
ary last  the  change  in  the  ration  was  made,  and  it  is  to 
the  lasting  credit  of  General  Terauchi,  the  Minister  of 
War,  that  he  brought  it  about.  Even  at  the  last  mo- 
ment army  conservatism  would  not  yield.  Ostensibly  on 
the  ground  of  economy  General  Terauchi  ordered  the 
change,  and  thus  spared  the  army's  stubborn  pride. 

Indeed,  the  Japanese  Army  erred  not  only  in  the  light 
of  the  nation's  experience,  but  in  spite  of  warnings 

247 


THE  REAL  TRIUMPH  OF  JAPAN 

from  other  sources.  In  October,  1904,  the  writer,  in 
an  address  before  the  International  Congress  of  Mili- 
tary Surgeons  in  St.  Louis  —  an  address  which  for  the 
first  time  seemed  to  reveal  to  the  world  the  marvellous 
success  that  the  Japanese  arms  had  attained  in  pre- 
venting unnecessary  disease  in  war  —  uttered  this  warn- 
ing:— 

"This  excruciatingly  painful  disease,  known  in  the 
literature  of  the  Orient  since  the  days  of  Confucius, 
was  for  centuries  the  dread  of  Oriental  armies.  Nor 
were  the  navies  exempt,  for  as  late  as  1882,  in  a  total 
force  of  4,769  in  the  Japanese  service,  1,929  suffered 
from  kakki,  of  whom  fifty-one  died.  Elaborate  inves- 
tigations were  instituted  by  Doctor  Takaki,  then  Medi- 
cal Director  of  the  Admiralty,  resulting  in  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  fact  that  kakki,  or  beri-beri,  is  a  neu- 
rotic disorder  resulting  from  a  lack  of  nitrogenous 
nutrition,  —  in  other  words,  of  nerve  starvation.  The 
ration  was  remedied,  to  supply  the  lacking  elements, 
with  the  result  of  practically  eliminating  it  from  the 
diseases  treated  in  the  hospitals  of  the  Admiralty. 
From  1886  to  1893  not  a  single  case  developed.  But 
the  army  is  less  fortunate  than  the  navy.  Its  ra- 
tion is  not  so  rich  in  nitrogen.  Economy  is  a  factor 
that  had  to  be  studied  most  carefully  in  Japan,  and  so 
no  variation  was  made  in  the  old  ration  of  the  soldier. 
This  proved  satisfactory  in  time  of  peace,  when  the 
soldier  was  not  bound  to  it  so  rigidly  as  when  on  for- 
eign service,  and  even  in  the  first  six  months  of  the 

248 


BERI - BERI 

present  conflict  it  served  its  purpose.  But  during  the 
long,  unbroken  marches,  when  for  weeks  men  were 
reduced  to  two  meals  a  day,  and  the  terrible  fighting 
(in  one  instance  with  no  interruption  for  seven  days, 
during  three  of  which  a  large  part  of  the  army  had 
almost  nothing  to  eat  and  but  little  to  drink),  the 
nervous  tension  and  deficient  nutrition  began  to  tell, 
and,  when  I  left  Newchwang  late  in  August,  kakki 
began  to  show  itself  in  the  ranks.  It  is  to  be  hoped 
that  the  reported  capture  of  sufficient  provisions  at 
Liaoyang  to  last  the  entire  army  three  years  is  true, 
in  which  event  kakki  will  soon  disappear.  //  not,  the 
sooner  the  authorities  substitute  barley  or  lentils  for  a 
portion  of  the  rice  allowance,  and  a  little  pemican,  as 
formerly  used  by  our  own  army,  or  biltung  as  used 
by  the  Boers,  or  pea  sausage  as  used  by  the  Germans 
and  by  Kitchener  in  his  famous  campaign  to  Khartoum, 
the  better  it  will  be  for  their  welfare.  These  foods  will 
supply  necessary  deficiencies  and  banish  an  enemy  that 
is  second  only  to  the  foe  they  are  trouncing  so  beauti- 
fully in  the  field." 

Confirmation  of  the  ravages  of  this  disease  was  re- 
ceived in  every  military  hospital  visited.  At  Dalney, 
the  great  base  hospital  to  which  the  sick  and  wounded 
were  sent  preparatory  to  being  transported  to  Japan, 
there  had  been  handled  in  the  year  of  the  hospital's 
existence  which  ended  on  June  24,  1905,  more  than 
220,000  cases  of  sick  and  wounded.  Of  these,  between 
one-sixth  and  one-seventh  were  beri-beri  cases.  That 

249 


THE  REAL  TRIUMPH  OF  JAPAN 

would  account  for  nearly  thirty-four  thousand  cases  of 
the  disease  alone.  These  figures  come  from  the  most 
authentic  sources.  Indeed  they  were  an  open  secret 
at  Dalney  at  the  celebration  in  June  that  marked  the 
anniversary  of  the  first  year  of  the  hospital's  existence. 
a  celebration  intended  primarily  for  the  enshrinement 
of  the  dead,  and  one  which  I  had  the  honour  to  attend. 
Mention  was  there  made  of  the  number  of  cases  the 
hospital  had  cared  for  and  the  proportion  of  cases  of 
beri-beri.  In  addition  there  were  many  cases  of  the 
disease  in  other  hospitals  that  never  reached  Dalney, 
while  others  originated  and  were  exclusively  treated  in 
Japan.  Everywhere  the  prevailing  illness  in  the  army 
was  beri-beri. 

Consider  the  record  in  General  Ota's  army  f  or  - 
months,  figures  taken  from  the  official  documents  in 
my  presence.  In  October  last,  the  total  number  of  sick 
cases  in  the  Second  Army  at  the  front  was  1.840.  of 
which  beri-beri  numbered  618.  The  record  for  the 
other  months  stands: 

November,  total,  1,721 ;  beri-beri,  691 


December, 

*        883; 

416 

January, 

«     1,366; 

HI 

February, 

*     2,300; 

861 

March, 

'     1,444; 

648 

April, 

1    i,24i; 

383 

This  makes  a  total  of  4,066  beri-beri  cases  out  of 
10,791  cases,  a  rate  of  approximately  forty  per  cent. 
Typhoid  gradually  lost  its  virulence,  and  in  Febru- 
250 


BERI - BEHI 


ary  there  were  only  two  cases  among  Oku's  troops  at 
the  front.  Beri-beri,  however,  increased  in  February, 
but  rapidly  declined  in  March  and  April  after  the  adop- 
tion of  the  new  ration. 

Here  are  some  figures  which  have  been  made  the 
basis  of  official  reports,  showing  the  relative  propor- 
tions of  beri-beri  to  other  serious  illnesses  in  the  First 
Army  —  Kuroki's  —  which,  according  to  Japanese  au- 
thorities, suffered  less  from  this  disease  than  any 
other :  — 


1904 

DYSENTERY 

TYPHOID 

BERI  -  BERI 

March 

3 

3 

22 

April 

20 

1 

66 

May 

16 

1 

54 

June 

21 

9 

128 

July 

29 

4 

261 

August 

10 

9 

737 

The  same  relative  proportions  existed  along  the 
etappen  lines  from  Kuroki's  army,  except  that  dysen- 
tery showed  a  decided  increase.  These  are  the  etappen 
figures :  — 


1904 

DYSENTERY 

TYPHOID 

BERI-BERI 

March 

3 

0 

9 

April 

88 

3 

52 

May 

143 

3 

100 

June 

189 

12 

207 

July 

115 

25 

647 

August 

214 

16 

1,244 

251 


THE  REAL  TRIUMPH  OF  JAPAN 

During  the  winter  campaign  the  ratio  of  beri-beri 
to  other  serious  diseases  in  Kuroki's  army  corresponded 
closely  to  that  of  Oku's  army,  both  of  which  had  a 
reasonable  supply  of  vegetable  food  other  than  rice. 

At  the  Toyama  branch  of  the  Tokio  Hospital,  the 
number  of  wounded  treated  was  6,189  in  this  period. 
The  sick  numbered  8,832,  and  of  these  4,623  had  beri- 
beri. The  total  number  of  enteric  cases  was  but  thirty. 
There  were  1,653  cases  of  what  are  known  as  "home 
diseases,"  that  is,  of  soldiers  who  have  not  been  to  the 
front,  and  of  these  457  had  beri-beri. 

In  the  Shibuya  Hospital,  another  branch,  there  were 
on  April  8,  1905,  103  beri-beri  cases  out  of  314  sick. 
At  that  time  there  was  but  one  case  of  dysentery,  while 
the  typhoid  fever  cases  numbered  fifty. 

In  the  great  hospital  at  Osaka  the  authorities  would 
not  give  specific  figures  as  to  sickness,  but  they  said 
that,  of  the  serious  cases,  beri-beri  furnished  by  far  the 
larger  part. 

At  Hiroshima  the  authorities  said  that  about  forty- 
one  per  cent,  of  their  cases  had  been  wounded  and 
fifty-nine  per  cent,  had  had  beri-beri.  The  condition 
of  affairs  at  Dalney  has  already  been  mentioned. 

At  Mukden,  at  the  time  of  my  visit  in  June,  1905, 
the  great  hospital  had  been  nearly  emptied,  but  of  the 
847  cases  of  sick  and  wounded,  173  suffered  from  beri- 
beri. At  Liaoyang,  1,182  cases  remained  in  the  hos- 
pital, sick  and  wounded,  218  of  which  were  beri-beri. 

And  so  it  was  at  all  the  hospitals,  great  and  small 
252 


BERI  -  BERI 

Everywhere  the  chief  illness  encountered  was  beri-beri; 
but  the  reports  showed  it  was  decreasing,  and  every 
surgeon  with  whom  I  conversed  on  the  subject  attrib- 
uted this  result  to  the  substitution  of  barley  for  a  por- 
tion of  rice  in  the  ration. 


253 


CHAPTEK   XIV. 

LEST   WE  FORGET 

LEST  we  forget  as  a  nation  and  lie  supine  in  the 
easy  content  of  Peace,  let  me  in  this  chapter  draw 
a  few  comparisons  between  our  little  wars  in  Cuba 
and  Porto  Eico  and  the  stupendous  and  masterly  con- 
ducted campaign  of  the  Japanese  in  Manchuria,  and 
also  of  the  medical  and  sanitary  history  of  those  cam- 
paigns. 

It  is  not  agreeable  reading  for  proud,  self-reliant 
Americans,  and  there  are  some  men  alive  to-day  who 
are  responsible  for  the  heinous  negligence  who  may  not 
relish  the  narration.  However,  they  deserve  greater 
punishment  than  the  mere  prickings  of  conscience,  for 
I  believe  that  just  as  surely  as  the  engineer  who  disre- 
gards set  signals,  or  the  train-despatcher  who  gives 
wrong  orders,  is  legally  responsible  for  the  loss  of  human 
lives  in  the  wreck  which  ensues,  so  these  men  are  re- 
sponsible for  the  thousands  of  manly  soldiers  needlessly, 
criminally  sacrificed  —  not  on  the  glorious  altar  of  war, 
but  in  pestiferous  camps  from  preventable  causes.  Every 
American  citizen  who  loyally  offers  his  services  to  his 
nation,  and  every  patriotic  wife  and  mother  who  sees 

254 


LEST    WE    FORGET 

her  loved  ones  march  away  to  war,  has  a  right  to  feel 
that  their  lives  will  be  safeguarded  so  far  as  modern 
science,  equipment  and  organization  can  accomplish  that 
result.  After  Japan's  example,  it  will  not  hereafter 
suffice  for  responsible  officials  to  shrug  their  shoulders 
over  the  shrouds  of  disease-killed  phalanxes,  and  say  — 
as  they  did  after  Cuba  —  that  "war  is  not  a  pleasure 
excursion,"  that  "war  is  not  strictly  a  hygienic  busi- 
ness," that  "the  outcry  about  sickness  and  neglect  is 
largely  sensational  and  for  the  manufacture  of  political 
effect,"  and  that  the  criticism  is  "a  concerted  effort 
to  hide  a  magnificent  triumph." 

The  sons  of  Nippon  have  set  a  new  standard:  four 
men  killed  by  bullets  to  one  who  dies  from  disease! 
In  the  face  of  these  figures  are  we  ever  again  to  repeat 
that  ghastly  tragedy  of  the  Spanish-American  Cam- 
paign —  fourteen  dead  from  disease  to  one  who  died 
a  soldier's  death  on  the  field  of  honour?  Yet,  if  we 
were  to  become  involved  in  war  to-morrow,  all  that 
would  occur  again,  and  worse.  To  prevent  its  reoccur- 
rence there  must  be  a  radical  reorganization  of  the 
Medical  Corps,  including  the  creation  by  law  of  Medi- 
cal Inspectors  General  and  an  adequate  Eeserve  Corps, 
made  equal  to  the  Japanese  standard  by  giving  it  an 
independent  transport  service,  and  by  making  its  officers 
of  equal  rank  with  the  highest  in  the  fighting  arm; 
with  executive  power  in  medical  and  sanitary  matters, 
and  advisory  power  over  the  Commissariat.  Thus  only 
can  we  hope  to  change  those  frightful  percentages  of 

255 


THE  REAL  TRIUMPH  OF  JAPAN 

death  from  disease,  to  approximate  the  remarkable  fig- 
ures of  the  Japanese  campaign.  No  less  a  conservative 
and  conscientious  war  correspondent  than  George  Ken- 
nan  writes  of  the  hospital  camp  established  before  San- 
tiago a  day  or  two  before  the  battle  of  July  1st,  1898, 
as  follows :  — 

"  The  hospital  consisted  of  three  large  tents  for  oper- 
ating-tables, pharmacy,  dispensary,  etc.;  another  of 
similar  dimensions  for  wounded  officers;  half  a  dozen 
small  wall  tents  for  wounded  soldiers;  and  a  lot  of 
'  dog-kennels '  or  low  shelter  tents  for  the  hospital  stew- 
ards, litter-carriers  and  other  attendants.  I  do  not  know 
how  many  ambulances  the  hospital  had  for  the  trans- 
portation of  wounded  from  the  battle  line,  but  I  saw 
only  two,  and  was  informed  by  Doctor  Godfrey  that 
only  three  had  been  brought  from  Tampa.  Fifty  more 
had  been  sent  to  that  port  for  the  use  of  the  Fifth  Army 
Corps,  but  had  been  left  there  by  direct  order  of  General 
Shafter  when  the  Expedition  sailed." 

The  monstrousness  of  that  offence  of  unpreparedness 
became  greater  when,  after  eight  weeks  of  mobilization 
at  Tampa  of  a  mere  handful  of  men  as  compared  to  the 
Japanese  hordes,  the  Commanding  General  of  the  forces 
could  not,  or  did  not,  get  the  necessary  supplies  and 
accessories  to  take  care  of  his  wounded;  and  in  some 
verified  instances  refused  to  transport  to  Cuba  with  his 
army  the  supplies  he  had  at  hand. 

The  incompetence,  negligence  and  stupidity  exhibited 
in  moving  only  our  little  Cuban  Army  of  fifteen  thou- 

256 


LEST   WE    FORGET 

sand  men  into  the  field  —  less  than  one  Japanese  divi- 
sion —  surpasses  belief.  That  it  was  as  unwarrantable 
as  it  has  been  described  has  been  emphasized  by  the 
example  of  the  Japanese,  scientifically  loading  trans- 
port after  transport  at  the  military  seaports  at  Hiro- 
shima with  supplies  of  all  kinds,  apportioned  in  variety 
and  quantity,  for  the  forces  taking  the  field.  At  that 
port,  too,  in  the  quiet  hours  of  night,  silently  and  with- 
out a  loud-spoken  word,  thousands  and  thousands  of 
soldiers  paddled  in  sampans  to  the  ships  anchored  in 
the  roadstead,  and  went  aboard.  At  one  of  those  em- 
barkations, during  my  stay  there,  forty  thousand  men 
took  ship  in  a  single  night,  and  when  the  eastern  sky 
lighted,  only  a  broad  expanse  of  burnished  water  met 
the  gaze,  where  the  day  before  lay  anchored  twenty  or 
thirty  vessels. 

Remember  that,  thirty-five  years  ago,  Japan  had  not 
a  single  sea-going  steamship,  and  yet,  when  she  went 
to  war,  she  moved  expeditiously  and  sent  with  her  val- 
iant soldiers  everything  known  to  modern  science  for 
the  prevention  of  disease,  and  sufficient  technical  and 
skilled  men  to  promptly  administer  to  every  sick  and 
wounded  man  who  might  require  care. 

At  Tampa  our  men  warred  and  cursed  and  stamped 
until  pandemonium  reigned.  We  piled  greasy  bacon 
mountain-high  in  the  broiling  sun,  until  the  very  sands 
might  have  been  rendered  for  the  grease;  we  stacked 
cases  of  watery,  canned  tomatoes,  open  to  the  blistering 
sky,  until  the  cans  fairly  writhed  in  ferment.  We 

257 


jammed  the  railroad  and  freight  yards  with  trains  until 
it  was  impossible  to  switch  a  car,  and  nobody  knew  where 
anything  was;  and  we  congested  the  piers  at  Port 
Tampa  until  the  stevedores  and  soldiers  could  hardly 
work,  and  the  quartermasters  in  despair  cried  out: 
"  Oh,  hell,  put  any  old  thing  on  board !  " 

An  army  quartermaster  told  as  a  good  story  how 
he  had  put  thirty  thousand  pounds  -of  sugar  in  the  bot- 
tom of  the  hold  of  a  transport  for  which  he  never  ac- 
counted. There  may  have  been  others  who  knew  what 
they  had  on  their  particular  ships,  but  it  is  doubtful. 
The  army  which  went  to  Cuba  was  not  an  army  of 
"  Eookies "  or  of  raw  recruits.  It  was  not  an  army 
of  Volunteers,  at  whom  the  Eegular  is  inclined  to  scoff. 
There  were  two  or  three  regiments  of  Volunteers  only, 
but  they,  the  flower  of  our  country.  The  bulk  of  the 
regiments  were  of  our  standing  army,  and  our  most 
highly  trained  and  organized  body  of  fighters.  That 
they  were  fighters,  God  bless  them,  was  what  saved  this 
nation  from  disgrace  on  July  1,  1898,  before  Santiago. 
They  were  wonderful  men,  those  Eegulars  of  the  ranks ; 
handicapped  from  start  to  finish  by  the  most  uncon- 
scionable inefficiency  ever  displayed  by  executive  officials. 

Think  of  it,  a  campaign  where  troops  penetrated  only 
seven  miles  inland  from  the  sea  —  that  army  was  almost 
wiped  out  of  existence  because  it  had  insufficient  trans- 
portation, insufficient  food,  insufficient  shelter,  insuf- 
ficient medical  supplies,  insufficient  medical  attendance ; 
and  the  United  States  was  less  than  three  days  away 

258 


LEST    WE    FORGET 

by  fast  ships !  Listen  again  to  what  Kennan  says  about 
the  hospital  camp  established  just  before  the  battle  of 
Santiago :  — 

"  The  hospital  staff  (the  main  field  hospital)  at  the 
beginning  of  the  first  day's  battle  consisted  of  five  sur- 
geons. The  resources  and  supplies,  outside  of  instru- 
ments, operating-tables,  and  medicines,  were  very  lim- 
ited. There  was  tent  shelter  for  only  about  one  hundred 
wounded  men;  there  were  no  cots,  hammocks,  mat- 
tresses, rubber  blankets  or  pillows  for  the  sick  or  in- 
jured soldiers;  the  supply  of  woollen  army  blankets 
was  very  short  and  was  soon  exhausted;  and  there  was 
no  clothing  at  all  except  two  or  three  dozen  shirts.  In 
the  form  of  hospital  food  for  sick  or  wounded  men 
there  was  nothing  except  a  few  jars  of  beef  extract, 
malted  milk,  etc.,  bought  in  the  United  States  by  an 
officer,  taken  to  the  field  in  his  own  private  baggage, 
and  held  in  reserve  for  desperate  cases." 

Again  he  says,  of  the  time  after  the  battle  was  on: 
"  As  the  hot  tropical  day  advanced,  the  numbers  (of 
wounded)  constantly  and  rapidly  increased  until,  at 
nightfall,  long  rows  of  wounded  were  lying  in  the  grass 
in  front  of  the  operating  tents,  without  awnings  or 
shelter,  awaiting  examination  and  treatment.  The  small 
force  of  field  surgeons  worked  heroically  and  with  a 
devotion  that  I  have  never  seen  surpassed;  but  they 
were  completely  overwhelmed  by  the  great  bloody  wave 
of  human  agony  that  rolled  back  in  ever  increasing 
volume  from  the  battle  line.  They  stood  at  the  operat- 
18  259 


THE  REAL  TRIUMPH  OF  JAPAN 

ing-tables  wholly  without  sleep,  and  almost  without  rest 
or  food,  for  twenty-one  consecutive  hours ;  yet,  in  spite 
of  their  tremendous  exertions,  hundreds  of  seriously  or 
dangerously  wounded  men  lay  on  the  ground  for  hours, 
many  of  them  half-naked,  and  nearly  all  without  shelter 
from  the  blazing  tropical  sun  in  the  daytime,  or  the 
damp  chilly  dew  at  night.  No  organized  or  systematic 
provision  had  been  made  for  feeding  them  or  giving 
them  drink,  and  many  a  poor  fellow  had  not  tasted 
food  or  water  for  twelve  hours,  and  had  been  exposed 
during  all  that  time  to  the  almost  intolerable  glare  of 
the  sun. 

"  Of  course,  the  wounded  who  had  been  operated 
upon,  or  the  greater  part  of  them,  had  to  lie  out  all 
night  on  the  water-soaked  ground;  and  in  order  to 
appreciate  the  suffering  they  endured  the  reader  must 
try  to  imagine  the  conditions  and  the  environment.  It 
rained  in  torrents  there  almost  every  afternoon  for  a 
period  of  from  ten  minutes  to  half  an  hour,  and  the 
ground,  therefore,  was  usually  water-soaked  and  soft. 
All  the  time  it  did  not  rain  the  sun  shone  with  a  fierce- 
ness that  I  have  seldom  seen  equalled,  and  yet  at  night 
it  grew  cool  and  damp  so  rapidly  as  to  necessitate  the 
putting  on  of  thicker  clothing  or  a  light  overcoat.  Many 
of  the  wounded  soldiers  who  were  brought  to  the  hos- 
pital from  a  distance  of  three  miles  in  a  jolting  ambu- 
lance or  army  wagon,  had  lost  their  upper  clothing 
at  the  bandaging  stations  just  back  of  the  battle  line. 
They  arrived  there  consequently  half -naked  and  without 

260 


LEST    WE    FORGET 

rubber  or  woollen  blankets;  and  as  the  very  limited  hos- 
pital supply  of  shirts  and  blankets  had  been  exhausted, 
there  was  nothing  to  clothe  or  cover  them  with.  All 
that  a  little  squad  could  do  with  a  man  when  they  lifted 
him  from  the  operating-table  was  to  carry  him  away 
and  lay  him  down,  half-naked  as  he  was,  on  the  water- 
soaked  ground  under  the  stars.  "Weak  and  shaken  from 
agony  under  the  surgeon's  knife  and  probe,  there  he 
had  to  lie  in  the  high,  wet  grass,  with  no  one  to  look 
after  him,  no  one  to  give  him  food  and  water  if  he 
needed  them,  no  blanket  over  him,  no  pillow  under  his 
head.  What  he  suffered  in  the  long  hours  of  the  damp, 
chilly  night,  I  know  because  I  saw  him  and  scores  more 
like  him." 

Would  not  that  narrative  wring  tears  from  a  stone? 
Would  it  not  cause  the  hardest  heart  to  bleed?  And 
it  is  told  by  a  man  recognized  as  one  who  truth- 
fully and  forcibly  states  facts,  and  facts  only.  What 
he  says  about  the  shortage  in  ambulances  does  not  im- 
press me  much,  because  in  the  Japanese  campaign  an 
ambulance  was  unknown.  Bringing  the  badly  wounded 
back  three  miles  from  the  front  in  "  jolting  ambu- 
lances "  —  the  very  thought  of  the  suffering  makes 
one  shudder  —  has  been  proven  to  be  wholly  unneces- 
sary by  the  Japanese,  for  they  transported  all  their 
wounded  from  the  firing  line  and  dressing  stations  to 
the  field  hospitals,  from  three  to  five  miles,  in  litters. 
What  is  needed  with  an  army  is  sufficient  litter-carriers, 
Red  Cross  men  and  hospital  stewards,  on  the  field  of 

261 


THE  REAL  TRIUMPH  OF  JAPAN 

action,  to  take  care  of  the  wounded  and  transport  them 
gently  to  the  hospital.  It  was  the  lack  of  men,  the  lack 
of  everything,  bad  management  in  even  the  trivial  facil- 
ities, which  made  the  Santiago  affair  such  a  gruesome 
spectacle.  When  our  soldiers  of  that  Fifth  Army  Corps 
fell  wounded  in  the  field,  there  they  stayed,  unattended 
in  some  cases  for  hours,  or,  as  was  more  usually  the 
case,  until  a  brother  soldier  for  humanity's  sake  stopped 
to  apply  the  first  aid  bandage.  Not  so  in  the  terrible 
Manchurian  battles.  No  fighting  soldier  in  the  advance 
need  stop  to  succour  the  wounded,  for  scores  of  men, 
just  as  brave  as  he,  unarmed,  wearing  only  the  Eed 
Cross  upon  their  sleeves,  caught  him  almost  as  he  fell, 
and  bore  him  back  to  some  haven  of  protection,  minis- 
tering to  his  sufferings.  Hundreds  of  litter-carriers 
rushed  forward  behind  the  charge,  and,  in  great  battles, 
almost  endless  lines  of  litters  wound  through  the  pro- 
tected gullies  and  behind  the  hills,  each  with  its  burden 
of  wrecked  humanity,  back  to  the  nearest  field  hospital. 
The  hospital  train  of  little  one-horse  carts  was  as  much 
in  evidence  as  the  ammunition  trains,  but  they  carried 
the  wherewithal  to  mend  life,  and  litters  and  blankets. 
The  wounded  soldier  came  off  the  field  usually  without 
his  field  kit  or  his  gun.  If  the  day  or  night  was  cool, 
or  the  poor  fellow  frozen  with  shock  of  mortal  wound, 
one  always  saw  him  cheerfully  wrapped  in  blankets 
lying  prone  upon  the  litter.  At  the  field  hospital,  he 
was  stowed  away  in  a  .clean  white  kimono,  thin  in  sum- 
mer, padded  and  quilted  in  winter ;  and  seldom  beyond 

262 


LEST    WE    FORGET 

the  first  temporary  field  station  was  he  forced  to  wear 
his  dirty,  blood-stained  uniform. 

It  seems  almost  inconceivable  how  any  civilized  army 
organization  could  be  so  wofully  mismanaged  that 
twelve  hundred  odd  wounded  men  could  not  be  properly 
handled  and  cared  for  in  two  days,  and  yet  we  have  the 
frightful  reminder  of  incompetency  in  the  battle  of 
Santiago,  —  a  battle  which  in  Japanese  eyes  would  be 
considered  a  mere  skirmish.  Our  casualties  were  less 
than  one-tenth  our  small  force  of  fifteen  thousand  men, 
and  still,  hundreds  of  the  wounded  lay  half-naked, 
scorched  and  chilled,  by  midday  sun  and  midnight  dews ; 
with  parched  throats  and  empty  stomachs ;  covered  with 
blood  and  dirt;  unattended;  suffering  untold  agonies 
from  torn  bodies,  through  lingering  hours  of  day  and 
night.  Brave  men,  brave  as  God  ever  made  —  but  the 
ghastly  horror  of  it  all,  that  we,  the  richest,  the  most 
advanced  nation  on  earth,  should  be  subjected  to  this 
shame;  and,  because  with  cunning  sophistry  the  cry 
was  raised  "  A  glorious  victory,"  that  we  should  straight- 
way forget  the  needless  brutality  that  made  it  possible 
for  heroes,  who  had  faced  the  enemy  and  fallen,  to  suffer 
and  die  from  neglect ! 

Kennan  says :  "  The  truth  briefly  stated  is  that,  owing 
to  bad  management,  lack  of  foresight,  and  the  almost 
complete  breakdown  of  the  commissary  and  medical 
departments  of  the  army,  our  soldiers  in  Cuba  suffered 
greater  hardships  and  privations  in  certain  ways  than 
were  ever  before  endured  by  an  American  army  in  the 

263 


THE  REAL  TRIUMPH  OF  JAPAN 

field.  They  were  not  half-equipped,  nor  half-fed,  nor 
half-cared  for,  when  they  were  wounded  or  sick;  they 
had  to  sleep  in  dog-kennel  shelter  tents  which  afforded 
little  or  no  protection  from  tropical  rains;  they  had 
to  cook  in  coffee-cups  and  old  tomato  cans  because  they 
had  no  camp  kettles ;  they  never  had  a  change  of  under- 
clothing after  they  landed;  they  were  forced  to  drink 
brook  water  that  was  full  of  disease  germs  because  they 
had  no  suitable  vessels  in  which  to  boil  it  or  keep  it 
after  it  had  been  boiled;  they  lived  a  large  part  of  the 
time  on  hard  bread  and  bacon,  without  beans,  rice,  or 
any  of  the  other  articles  which  go  to  make  up  the  full 
army  ration;  and,  when  wounded,  they  had  to  wait 
hours  for  surgical  aid,  and  then,  half -dead  from  pain 
and  exhaustion,  they  lay  all  night  on  the  water-soaked 
ground,  without  shelter,  blanket,  pillow,  food  or  attend- 
ance. To  suppose  that  any  army  will  keep  well  and 
maintain  its  efficiency  under  such  circumstances  and 
conditions  is  as  unreasonable  and  absurd  as  to  suppose 
that  a  man  will  thrive  and  grow  fat  in  the  stockaded 
log  pen  of  a  Turkish  quarantine." 

General  Shafter  himself,  in  a  telegram  from  Santi- 
ago on  August  8th,  stated :  — 

"  At  least  seventy-five  per  cent,  of  the  command  has 
been  down  with  malarial  fever,  from  which  they  recover 
very  slowly.  What  put  my  command  in  its  present  con- 
dition was  twenty  days  of  the  campaign  when  they  had 
nothing  but  meat,  bread  and  coffee,  without  change  of 
clothes  and  without  any  shelter  whatever." 

264 


LEST    WE    FORGET 

What  a  preposterous  and  humiliating  admission  for 
any  general  commanding  such  a  small  body  of  soldiers 
as  that  which  went  to  Cuba !  If  the  government  with 
all  its  purchasing  power  and  the  facilities  at  its  dis- 
posal could  not  properly  supply  and  equip  that  dimin- 
utive command,  I  dread  to  think  what  would  happen 
to  us,  the  first  year,  in  case  we  should  ever  engage  in 
a  real  war. 

Our  Nippon  friends  kept  six  hundred  thousand  men 
in  the  field  for  over  a  year  and  a  half ;  they  fought  the 
greatest  battles  of  history,  one  of  twelve  days  of  inces- 
sant fighting,  and  the  other  of  sixteen  days ;  there  were 
dozens  of  other  battles  of  greater  magnitude  than  our 
Santiago  affairs ;  and  skirmish  fighting  constantly  went 
on  during  the  entire  period  of  hostilities.  Their  soldiers 
had  their  camp  kettles  with  them ;  they  had  their  water- 
boilers  on  hand;  they  had  their  blankets  with  them; 
they  had  their  mosquito  nets,  and  every  man  was  envel- 
oped in  one  during  the  mosquito  season.  Their  casu- 
alties have  been  nearly  forty  thousand  in  a  single  battle, 
or  almost  three  times  the  entire  number  of  soldiers  we 
sent  to  Cuba;  and  yet,  every  man  was  promptly,  care- 
fully and  scientifically  cared  for.  Every  soldier  who 
acquired  a  temperature  or  disclosed  a  furred  tongue 
immediately  got  medical  treatment.  They  fought 
through  a  country  where  unsanitary  conditions  obtain, 
and  they  camped  on  germ-infested  sites  of  former  Rus- 
sian camps;  and  yet,  by  the  incessant  precautions  of 
a  numerically  adequate  medical  corps,  in  hygiene,  sani- 

265 


THE  REAL  TRIUMPH  OF  JAPAN 

tation,  food,  drink,  clean  clothing,  the  army  was  enabled 
to  make  a  health  showing  unheard  of  before  in  the  an- 
nals of  war.  Think  of  it,  thirty-four  out  of  every  hun- 
dred men  who  went  to  war,  and  fought  through  eight- 
een months  of  bitter  strife,  were  never  wounded  or 
reported  at  sick  call !  Only  thirty-one  per  cent,  of  the 
soldiers,  or  less  than  one-third  of  the  force,  were  ever 
sick  in  hospital,  and  but  two  per  cent,  of  the  army  died 
of  disease.  There  were  more  men  killed  on  the  battle- 
field and  wounded  than  were  sick  or  died  from  disease. 

Let  it  not  be  forgotten  that  the  Russian  army  failed 
to  win  a  single  victory  during  the  war,  but  in  every 
battle,  from  the  Yalu  to  the  Mongolian  frontier,  were 
driven  from  the  field.  In  their  retreat  their  sick, 
wounded  and  dead  often  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Japa- 
nese, who  were  further  impeded  by  this  added  responsi- 
bility. In  Port  Arthur  alone  the  captured  sick  and 
wounded  numbered  over  seventeen  thousand,  nine  thou- 
sand of  whom  were  victims  of  scurvy,  while  at  Mukden 
the  sick  and  wounded  prisoners  numbered  about  twenty 
thousand. 

And  to  the  eternal  credit  of  Japan  let  it  be  recalled 
that  no  distinction  was  made  between  those  men  and 
her  own  in  matters  of  medical  treatment,  rations,  trans- 
portation and  nursing  from  the  first  aid  dressing  on  the 
firing  line  to  their  comfortable  quarters  in  her  home 
hospital.  To  this  I  can  testify  from  personal  observa- 
tion. 

In  Cuba,  Shafter  admitted  that  seventy-five  per  cent. 
266 


LEST   WE    FORGET 

of  his  army  was  incapacitated  for  active  service  after 
less  than  six  weeks  in  the  field.  Granting  that  the  cam- 
paign took  place  in  a  tropical  country  where  germ  life 
was  most  dangerous,  it  simply  increased  the  burden  of 
blame  to  the  military  officials  who  dared  to  take  an  army 
into  such  a  field  with  such  wretched  hospital,  medical, 
dietary,  and  transport  equipment.  They  did  this  in  the 
face  of  wide-spread  information  given  them  and  the 
public  by  technical  and  trained  experts  on  the  proper 
treatment  and  care  of  the  health  which  must  be  ob- 
served in  such  a  region. 

That  it  was  wholly  unnecessary  for  the  Fifth  Army 
Corps  to  have  fallen  prey  to  disease  in  excessive  num- 
bers before  Santiago  has  been  amply  demonstrated  by 
the  medical  reports  made  upon  the  fighting  naval  con- 
tingent, which  landed  at  Guatanamo,  some  fifteen  miles 
east  of  Siboney.  That  force  lay  in  hastily  constructed 
trenches  for  forty-eight  hours,  fighting  desperately  to 
maintain  their  position;  they  were  in  the  field  prac- 
tically the  same  length  of  time  as  Shafter's  army,  and 
in  exactly  the  same  climate;  and  still  after  eight  weeks 
of  life  ashore,  when  the  Santiago  force  was  almost  des- 
troyed by  disease,  the  naval  soldiers  showed  but  2Y2  per 
cent,  of  their  men  on  sick  report.  The  remarkable  dif- 
ference in  showing  was  accounted  for  by  the  fact  that 
the  naval  men  had  proper  shelter,  more  nearly  proper 
food,  proper  clothing,  proper  medical  attendance,  better 
sanitary  system  enforced,  and  boiled  water. 

Struggle  as  one  may  with  the  Surgeon-General's  re- 
267 


THE    REAL    TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 

port  for  1898,  one  cannot  find  a  clean  separation  of  the 
statistics  of  the  Fifth  Army  Corps  from  the  General 
Statistical  Tables  of  the  whole  army  mobilized  for  the 
Cuban  War.  It  is  unfortunate  that  this  is  so,  for  it 
prevents  a  ready  analysis  of  what  happened  to  the  corps 
of  sixteen  thousand  men,  who  were  engaged  in  actual 
warfare  in  Cuba.  There  is  one  table,  however,  on  page 
128,  which  shows  the  number  of  cases  and  deaths  re- 
ported from  field  hospitals  of  this  corps  at  different 
points  of  their  travels  from  Tampa  through  Cuba  and 
back  to  Montauk  Point.  During  the  five  months  from 
May  to  the  end  of  September,  the  hospitals  took  care 
of  9,246  cases,  and  four  hundred  men  died.  If  the  army 
in  Cuba  had  had  hospitals  to  go  to,  instead  of  being 
forced  to  lie  on  the  damp  ground  in  filthy  shelter  tents, 
with  scanty  medical  attendance  and  no  medicines  most 
of  the  time,  we  may  rest  assured  that  the  official  returns 
would  not  have  shown  every  man  moving  through  the 
hospitals  three  or  four  times.  The  deaths  are  very  sig- 
nificant, for  it  means  that  in  less  than  five  months 
twenty-five  men  out  of  every  thousand  succumbed  to 
disease. 

On  page  239  of  the  1899  Report  we  do  find  a  para- 
graph which  states  that  the  total  deaths  in  our  army 
from  May  1,  1898,  to  June  30,  1899,  were  6,619,  equiv- 
alent to  a  death-rate  of  thirty-three  per  thousand,  and 
from  disease  alone  twenty-five  per  thousand.  Interest- 
ing figures  these,  for  the  mean  strength  of  the  American 
Army  during  that  period  of  thirteen  months  could  not 

268 


LEST    WE    FORGET 

have  been  as  much  as  135,000  men,  or  less  than  one- 
third  the  mean  Japanese  strength.  The  Japanese  lost 
11,992  men  from  disease  in  fifteen  months,  with  an 
army  of  nearly  six  hundred  thousand  in  the  field. 

The  confusing  admission  is  made  in  the  1899  Keport 
that  45.14  men  per  thousand  died  from  disease  in  Cuba, 
which  makes  the  death-rate  in  actual  campaign  four 
and  one-half  times  greater  than  the  Japanese. 

Another  significant  statement  is  that  23.81  men  per 
thousand  died  in  the  United  States  from  disease,  while 
in  Manila  the  rate  was  reduced  to  17.20  per  thousand. 
This  clearly  indicates  that  the  high  death-rate  in  the 
United  States  was  to  be  accounted  for  by  gross  mis- 
management and  incompetency  of  the  responsible  offi- 
cials, and  in  the  lower  tropical  zone  the  Philippine 
death-rate  showed  an  awakening  sense  of  the  officials 
to  better  medical  supervision. 

In  thirteen  months  our  army  lost  2,774  men  from 
typhoid  fever,  while  in  fifteen  months  the  Japanese, 
with  a  mean  strength  three  times  ours,  lost  but  3,141. 
However,  the  Japanese  mortality  from  this  disease  was 
exceedingly  high,  while  ours  was  decidedly  low,  so  that 
the  discrepancy  in  actual  cases  in  the  two  armies  is 
greatly  in  favour  of  Japan. 

I  believe,  however,  that  a  large  proportion  of  the 
cases  classified  as  typhoid  fever  in  our  army  during 
the  Spanish  American  War  no  more  suffered  from  that 
disease  than  from  housemaid's  knee.  Diagnoses  were 
too  frequently  made  without  blood  tests  or  microscopic 

269 


THE    REAL    TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 

examinations.  A  prominent  factor  in  the  production 
of  the  diseases  which  caused  the  mortality  in  that 
war  was  the  totally  unsuitable  ration  given  to  the  un- 
seasoned troops.  Indeed,  I  am  fully  convinced  that 
had  our  army  been  properly  prepared  for  tropical 
service  by  subsisting  on  a  judicious  diet  prior  to  the 
invasion  of  Cuba  and  Porto  Eico  and  during  its  stay 
in  the  tropics,  sickness  and  mortality  would  have  at- 
tained very  different  proportions. 

No  better  evidence  of  this  can  be  had  than  the  path- 
ological features,  in  cases  of  death,  whether  the  cause 
had  been  pronounced  intestinal  catarrh,  hepatitis,  duo- 
denitis, typhlitis,  enteritis,  enteric  or  typhoid  fever, 
colitis,  dysentery,  or  diarrhoea  associated  with  malaria. 
In  the  hospital  of  the  Quartermaster's  Department, 
under  the  care  of  Surgeon  Moret,  a  native  Porto  Rican, 
where  I  was  frequently  called  in  consultation,  there 
were  130  serious  cases  of  intestinal  disease,  all  of  which 
were  put  exclusively  on  a  diet  of  pure  milk.  In  every 
case  but  two,  and  those  were  hopeless  on  admission, 
there  was  rapid  recovery  without  an  evidence  of  typhoid 
fever;  nor  did  the  two  which  proved  fatal  have  this 
disease. 

Had  the  army  been  provided  with  a  ration  in  which 
the  carbohydrates  were  given  a  greater  and  the  nitrog- 
enous elements  a  lesser  part,  there  would  have  been 
far  less  recorded  sickness  and  mortality.  The  cases  on 
which  we  were  fortunate  enough  to  hold  autopsies  pre- 
sented many  similar  characteristics.  The  liver  was 

270 


almost  invariably  congested.  The  mucous  membrane  of 
the  intestine  was  pale  and  covered  with  a  thick  tena- 
cious adherent  mucus,  the  mucosa  was  hypertrophied, 
often  deeply  congested,  and  ulcerated,  in  two  instances 
those  ulcerations  almost  encircled  the  entire  canal.  The 
toughness  of  the  opaque  secretions  obliterated  the  in- 
testinal glands,  causing  atrophy  and  thus  interfering 
with  the  vital  processes  of  absorption  and  metabol- 
ism. 

Why  is  it  that  a  simple  intestinal  catarrh,  a  diarrhoea 
with  malaria,  a  mild  duodenitis,  or  enteritis  is  aggra- 
vated when  salt  meat,  beans,  fat  pork,  fermenting  to- 
matoes, etc.,  are  taken  into  the  intestines?  Because 
they  act  as  irritants,  exciting  instead  of  allaying  inflam- 
mation, thus  engrafting  on  a  comparatively  trifling 
disorder  one  of  serious  proportions.  One  was  almost 
as  much  puzzled  to  know  how  to  sign  a  certificate  of 
death  after  an  autopsy  as  before,  for  the  diseases  seemed 
to  be  blended,  the  areas  of  congestion  or  inflammation 
being  only  slightly  interrupted,  or  of  a  general  char- 
acter. The  diagnostic  features  were  so  tangled  and 
masked,  as  to  make  differentiation  extremely  difficult 
and  to  lead  to  the  conclusion  that  the  enteric  diseases 
prevailing  in  the  army  in  Porto  Rico  and  Cuba  during 
our  war  were  of  a  new  form  of  development.  They 
were  the  result  of  a  tin-canned-salt-junketed-ferment- 
ing-tomato-salt-pork  diet,  intensifying  a  simple  catarrh ; 
and  resulted  in  sending  many  of  our  men  to  their  eter- 
nal home,  or  to  the  hospitals  of  the  North  in  the  pitiable 

271 


THE  REAL  TRIUMPH  OF  JAPAN 

conditions  with  which  we  are  all  familiar,  and  in  making 
the  camp  more  dangerous  than  the  firing  line. 

Simple  catarrhal  affections  of  the  stomach  and  upper 
intestinal  tract,  not  resolving  rapidly,  will  lead,  under 
an  unsuitable  dietary,  to  congestion  of  the  liver  with 
all  the  dangers  attached  to  such  a  state,  in  a  climate 
where  the  natural  antiseptic  of  the  intestine  is  of  such 
paramount  importance.  The  reduction  in  quantity  of 
bile  leads  to  autointoxications,  and  extension  of  the 
processes  of  inflammation  until  the  entire  intestinal 
tube  may  be  involved;  and  jaundice,  duodenitis,  ente- 
ritis and  colitis  are  developed,  conditions  which  are  an 
open  door  for  all  micro-organisms  that  can  find  entrance. 
And  that  is  what  happened  to  the  American  Army. 

Another  table  in  the  Surgeon-General's  Report  for 
1898,  where  a  hideous  record  of  disease  is  hidden  by 
comparing  it  with  worse  tables  of  the  Civil  War,  forty 
odd  years  ago,  when  we  knew  so  little  of  sanitation  and 
less  of  germ  infection,  show  that  out  of  a  mean  force 
of  167,168  men,  the  majority  of  whom  stayed  in  home 
camps  that  should  have  been  equal  to  summer  resorts 
for  building  up  constitutions,  158,460,  or  ninety-five  odd 
per  cent.,  were  admitted  to  the  hospitals.  The  Japanese 
in  an  equal  period  of  time  had  but  fifteen  per  cent.,  and 
that  fifteen  per  cent,  was  represented  by  men  who  were 
fighting  in  the  field  week  after  week,  exposed  to  the 
greatest  hardships  and  rigours  of  war. 

In  the  Surgeon-General's  Report  for  1899,  on  page 
331,  in  which  are  tabulated  the  medical  statistics  of 

272 


LEST    WE    FORGET 

the  United  States  Army  for  the  year  1898,  we  find  that 
the  mean  average  strength  of  the  army  was  46,635.  The 
ratio  per  thousand  of  men  admitted  to  the  sick  report 
is  here  given  for  the  year  as  2,146,  or  every  man  was 
sick  twice  in  the  year.  In  the  Japanese  army  for  an 
equal  time,  assuming  the  mean  strength  to  have  been 
four  hundred  thousand  men,  the  ratio  was  463  men  per 
thousand,  or  less  than  one  man  in  every  two  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  hospital.  There  died  from  disease  in  the 
American  Army  during  the  year  27.55  men  per  thou- 
sand. The  fact  must  be  remembered  that  we  started  the 
year  with  only  twenty-seven  thousand  Eegulars,  care- 
fully housed  in  garrisons,  presumably  under  the  best 
hygienic  and  sanitary  conditions,  and  that  this  twenty- 
seven  thousand  did  not  begin  to  leave  their  fine  quarters 
for  the  first  three  months'  of  the  year,  or  until  war  with 
Spain  became  imminent.  Remember  also  that  the  sev- 
eral hundred  thousand  of  volunteers  mobilized  for  the 
campaign  were  never  out  of  the  country,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  a  few  regiments ;  and  their  total  service  was 
less  than  five  months.  They  should,  by  all  the  rules 
of  the  game,  have  been  having  a  delightful  summer 
outing,  without  hardships,  and  with  plenty  of  fine  fresh 
air  and  outdoor  exercise,  or  the  kind  of  life  we  live  when 
we  go  into  camp  with  a  view  of  rejuvenating  ourselves 
after  a  winter  of  hard  work.  Still,  the  death-list  from 
disease  for  the  whole  year,  seven  months  of  which  really 
should  not  be  counted,  included  twenty-seven  men  out 
of  every  thousand.  It  seems  almost  like  juggling  of 

273 


THE  REAL  TRIUMPH  OF  JAPAN 

figures  to  present  them  to  the  eye  as  does  this  official 
report. 

Taking  the  report  of  deaths  from  disease  in  our  army 
for  the  worst  single  month,  August,  we  find  that  6.14 
men  out  of  every  thousand  died.  That  was  the  month 
when  numerically  the  force  was  the  largest,  and  the 
bulk  of  it  was  camping  out  in  beautiful  parks,  for  its 
health.  Roughly,  the  Japanese  army  did  not  show  in 
its  worst  months  over  two  deaths  from  disease  per  thou- 
sand; and,  pardon  the  emphasis,  that  in  actual,  stren- 
uous campaigning,  with  incessant,  frightful  hardships 
confronting  the  troops  and  a  thousand  miles  from  home. 

The  official  medical  reports  from  the  Philippines, 
bound  into  the  so-called  "  Surgeon-General's  Report," 
are  pathetically  humourous  to  the  man  on  the  inside. 
Personally  I  saw  much  of  the  hospital  life  in  our  dis- 
tant possessions  in  1899,  and  I  heard  the  bitter  com- 
plaints of  many  army  surgeons  directly  from  their  lips. 
Fear  of  court  martial,  fear  of  official  disfavour,  dread 
of  the  machine,  makes  it  a  difficult  task  for  any  medi- 
cal officer  in  the  United  States  Army  to  utter  freely  his 
heartfelt  convictions.  It  has  been  a  veritable  travesty, 
a  medical  corps  at  the  mercy  of  an  autocratic  military 
commander,  who  knew  nothing  of  army  hygiene  or  sani- 
tation, and  mighty  little,  apparently,  of  how  to  com- 
mand fighting  troops  in  the  field.  As  one  able  sub- 
altern put  it,  "  He  would  make  an  excellent  quarter- 
master sergeant  in  any  regiment,  for  he  is  great  on 
detail." 

274 


LEST    WE    FORGET 

Yet,  the  entire  medical  organization  was  in  such  hope- 
less hands,  in  the  hands  of  a  man  who  sent  an  infantry 
officer  to  report  on  the  sick  men  in  the  hospital  because 
he  had  empirically  asserted  his  conviction  that  at  least 
forty  per  cent,  of  the  patients  were  malingering.  The 
same  man  bluntly  told  a  young  medical  officer  on  the 
voyage  to  the  Philippines  that  a  case  he  had  reported 
as  measles  was  not  measles  at  all,  and  so  cowed  the 
inexperienced  surgeon  that  it  took  him  twenty-four 
hours  to  muster  up  sufficient  courage  to  approach  the 
General  again  and  ask  him  to  please  state  officially  that 
it  was  not  measles,  so  he  might  be  relieved  from  future 
responsibility.  The  General  backed  down. 

It  was  this  officer  who,  when  an  alphabetical  list  of 
insane  sick  soldiers  was  placed  before  him  with  the 
request  that  they  be  transported  to  the  United  States 
immediately  to  save  many  of  them  from  dying,  said  that 
those  names  from  A  to  M  might  go  on  the  next  trans- 
port, but  that  he  had  no  room  for  any  more,  thus  allow- 
ing the  surgeons  no  discretion  in  the  selection  of  cases 
to  be  returned. 

It  was  the  same  man  who,  it  was  said,  cut  every 
requisition  in  two  as  a  matter  of  economy  to  the  gov- 
ernment, thus  forcing  officers  into  the  unpleasant  duty 
of  doubling  their  requisitions  in  order  to  secure  what 
was  actually  necessary. 

Under  Japanese  military  organization,  the  youngest 
medical  lieutenant  would  not  hesitate  to  report  the  Gen- 
eral of  the  fighting  arm  to  his  superior,  with  the  knowl- 
™  275 


THE    REAL    TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 

edge  that  his  complaint  would  reach  the  hand  of  a  medi- 
cal officer  as  high  in  rank  as  the  General  commanding 
forces,  and  if  he  were  right  he  would  be  sustained.  Of 
course,  no  fighting  officer  among  the  Japanese  would 
for  a  moment  question  the  right  of  a  brother  medical 
officer  to  exercise  his  own  judgment  within  the  lines  of 
his  own  technical  profession.  The  medical  expert  is 
in  that  army  for  the  specific  purpose  of  furnishing 
expert  opinions  on  hygiene,  sanitation  and  medical  mat- 
ters, and  his  word  is  obeyed  without  question. 

Medicines  were  fairly  abundant  in  the  Philippines  at 
all  times,  and  there  were  no  repetitions  of  the  Cuban 
affair,  when  three  times  in  the  six  weeks  before  Santi- 
ago medicines  were  exhausted  and  thousands  of  sick 
men  had  to  go  without  medicinal  treatment  for  days  at 
a  time.  The  medical  necessity  in  the  Philippines  was 
mainly  for  doctors,  stewards  and  nurses,  the  demands 
for  which  the  General  commanding  ignored  discourte- 
ously until  the  situation  became  alarming. 

In  Porto  Rico,  Cuba  and  the  Philippines  the  ration 
supplied  to  the  army,  and  over  which  the  medical  officer 
had  no  control,  did  more  toward  the  production  of  the 
diseases  affecting  the  troops  than  any  other  single  factor. 
The  following  extract  from  my  final  report  of  the  First 
Regiment,  United  States  Engineers,  was  made  to  the 
Surgeon-General  January  21,  1899 :  — 

"  When  whole  regiments  were  suffering  from  intes- 
tinal catarrh  (and  I  have  seen  ninety  per  cent,  of  an 
entire  command  afflicted  with  this  trouble  at  one  time), 

276 


LEST    WE    FORGET 

they  were  subsisted  on  a  ration  consisting  principally 
of  fatty  bacon,  salt  beef,  tomatoes,  frequently  in  a  state 
of  fermentation  due  to  the  intense  tropical  heat,  canned 
beef  and  hardtack,  with  the  natural  result  of  aggravat- 
ing the  disease  and  producing  a  condition  which  left 
the  entire  intestinal  tract  a  fruitful  culture-ground  for 
the  development  of  every  micro-organism  that  could 
find  entrance." 

Under  such  circumstances  it  was  not  surprising  that 
the  hospitals  were  soon  overcrowded,  and  that  all 
precautions  taken  against  disease  had  little  or  no 
effect. 

The  most  distressing  feature  was  that  the  conditions 
could  not  be  changed,  for  the  government  made  no 
provision  for  furnishing  the  army  with  any  other  ration 
for  weeks,  and  the  wretched  system  of  the  Medical  De- 
partment gave  its  officers  no  authority  to  enforce  a 
change.  Eepeatedly  I  asked  that  rice  might  be  sub- 
stituted for  that  irritating  ration  which  served  as  an 
excitant  of  disease,  only  to  be  refused.  I  firmly  believe 
that  if  my  regiment  had  been  supplied  with  a  liberal 
allowance  of  rice  and  other  light  diet  during  its  stay 
in  the  tropics,  it  would  have  returned  to  this  country 
in  better  condition  than  when  it  took  its  departure. 
So,  also,  with  the  troops  that  never  reached  the  front 
but  were  mobilized  in  the  various  camps  of  the  country, 
tens  of  thousands  of  whom  returned  home  with  shat- 
tered health  and  in  such  debilitated  condition  that  over 
fifty  thousand  pension  claims  have  since  been  filed  in 

277 


THE    REAL    TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 

Washington  as  a  proof  of  the  ignorance  and  incompe- 
tence of  the  management  to  which  they  were  compelled 
to  submit.  And  only  twenty  thousand  men  were  actu- 
ally engaged  in  the  war. 


278 


CHAPTER   XV. 

CONCLUSION 

IN  the  preceding  chapters  I  have  tried  to  picture 
the  medical  and  sanitary  protection  given  to  the 
soldiers  of  Nippon;  to  tell  of  the  splendid  aid, 
the  fatherly  solicitude  and  gentle  care  taken  by  the 
Emperor  of  his  children.  In  that  land,  where  the  tra- 
ditions of  feudalism,  of  the  Daimio,  and  Samurai,  and 
of  chivalry  are  still  vivid  in  the  memories  of  the  people, 
where  caste  and  class  distinctions  were,  until  the  Resto- 
ration in  1868,  more  marked  than  in  any  part  of  the 
world,  there  patriotism  is  the  sublimest  duty  of  the  sol- 
dier, while  the  care  of  the  sick  and  wounded  is  the  proud- 
est duty  of  every  citizen  from  the  highest  to  the  lowliest. 
It  is  a  filial  duty,  welcomed  alike  by  rich  and  poor,  — 
an  honour  indeed,  to  be  permitted  to  help  the  soldier 
who  has  risked  his  life  in  his  country's  service ;  and  the 
medical  officer  is  clothed  with  the  authority  necessary 
to  safeguard  the  soldier's  right  —  his  health. 

How  is  this  sacred  trust  regarded  in  our  own  land? 
We,  too,  have  our  wars  —  for  liberty  and  for  principles, 
no  less  sacred  than  those  for  which  Japan  has  fought 

279 


THE    REAL    TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 

so  valiantly.  With  MS,  a  nation  of  free  men,  every  one 
is  a  sovereign  ruler;  and  patriotism  ought  to  be  far 
more  sacred  than  even  in  Japan.  Our  armies  are  not 
made  up  of  conscripts,  but  of  proud  volunteers,  as  ready 
to  sacrifice  life  for  their  country's  honour  as  the  men 
of  Japan.  No  fighting  in  the  Eusso-Japanese  War 
approached  in  ghastly  slaughter  the  terrible  tragedy  of 
Cold  Harbour,  in  1863,  where  ten  thousand  Union  sol- 
diers fell  in  less  than  ten  minutes,  —  more  than  a  thou- 
sand a  minute;  and  Liaoyang  and  Mukden  had  their 
counterparts  in  Gettysburg  and  the  Wilderness.  In 
spite  of  graft  and  scandal  and  the  mad  chase  for  gold 
in  America,  the  fire  of  patriotism  and  bravery  and  sac- 
rifice is  merely  slumbering,  and  only  requires  the  elec- 
tric spark  of  insult  to  national  honour  to  kindle  it  into 
action.  But  how  is  this  patriotism  appreciated  by  the 
soldier's  government?  How  is  his  health  protected? 
How  is  he  given  the  square  deal  ?  Is  the  medical  officer, 
the  man  who  fights  the  foe  which  kills  the  eighty  per 
cent.,  given  authority  and  power  by  oversight  of  diet- 
ary and  sanitary  control  to  safeguard  his  inalienable 
interests?  Let  us  see. 

That  a  grave  crisis  would  confront  this  country  in 
the  event  of  another  war  through  the  deficiencies  of 
the  Medical  Department  of  its  Army,  and  its  lack  of 
power,  has  been  abundantly  indicated  by  the  marvellous 
statistics  of  the  recent  Eusso-Japanese  conflict.  The 
question  now  is  whether  this  department  shall  remain 
in  its  present  deplorable  condition,  owing  to  lack  of 

280 


CONCLUSION 

numbers,  organization  and  power  to  cope  with  the  sani- 
tary emergencies  certain  to  arise  in  war,  or  whether  it 
shall  be  reorganized  on  a  basis  which  will  give  its  officers 
the  necessary  rank  and  power  to  enforce  its  orders,  and 
thereby  accord  to  the  soldier  his  physical  rights.  The 
personnel  of  the  department  is  not  so  much  at  fault 
as  is  the  lamentable  system  under  which  that  personnel 
is  compelled  to  carry  out  its  measures.  Every  depart- 
ment of  the  United  States  Army,  excepting  the  Medical 
Department,  is  practically  autonomous.  The  officer  of 
Ordnance,  of  Cavalry,  of  Infantry,  or  of  the  Signal 
Service,  can  issue  his  orders  within  his  province  and 
have  them  executed.  Is  it  so  in  the  department  that 
has  to  contend  with  the  enemy  that  kills  the  eighty  per 
cent.  ?  No.  The  medical  officer  can  make  a  recom- 
mendation, but  never  issue  an  order.  This  recommen- 
dation he  can  submit  to  the  commanding  officer,  who 
may  accept  or  ignore  it  at  his  pleasure,  provided 
only  that  he  states  his  reasons  for  his  disapproval 
before  forwarding  it  to  a  higher  authority,  who,  in 
turn,  frequently  fails  to  appreciate  the  importance 
of  the  recommendation  which  has  been  made  to 
him. 

Therein  lies  the  secret  of  the  failure  of  the  Medical 
Department.  It  has  no  authority  to  carry  out  any  sys- 
tematic sanitary  work,  whereby  preventable  disease  may 
be  prevented.  I  first  recognized  this  in  the  Spanish- 
American  War,  where  the  deaths  from  preventable  dis- 
eases were  fourteen  times  as  great  as  those  from  cas- 

281 


THE    REAL    TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 

ualties  received  in  the  conflict.  Perceiving  that  this  loss 
was  nearly  all  unnecessary  and  preventable,  I  set  about 
to  study  the  reasons  thereof  and,  if  possible,  to  find 
some  method  by  which  it  could  be  prevented.  With 
this  object  in  view  I  have  served  with  the  Army  in  the 
Philippines,  passed  a  winter  with  the  troops  of  the 
Allied  Armies  of  the  world  in  Peking  in  the  Boxer 
Campaign,  and  twice  visited  the  seat  of  war  in  Man- 
churia ;  and  as  a  result  of  observations  in  these  various 
expeditions,  I  am  firmly  convinced  that  that  needless 
sacrifice  of  life  could  have  been  prevented,  and  that 
the  reason  for  our  failure  to  prevent  it  lay  mainly 
in  the  lack  of  authority  given  to  the  Medical  Depart- 
ment. 

The  present  system  of  this  department  of  the  army 
is  founded  upon  false  premises.  Its  efforts  are  di- 
rected toward  the  cure  of  disease  instead  of  its  pre- 
vention. 

As  stated  in  my  article  on  Military  Surgery  in  the 
New  International  Encyclopaedia,  edited  by  Doctor  Gil- 
man,  "  In  order  to  prevent  the  invasion  of  that  deadlier 
foe,  whose  fatalities  in  every  war  are  never  less  than 
five  times  greater  than  those  killed  in  battle,  the  medical 
officer  must  prove  himself  a  keen  sanitary  engineer  in 
the  selection  of  camp  sites,  of  camp  drainage,  of  the 
location  of  latrines,  in  the  inspection  of  all  water-sup- 
plies, the  quality  of  the  food  and  its  cooking,  and  of  the 
soldier's  clothing  and  his  personal  cleanliness.  He  must 
be  an  epidemiologist  and  a  bacteriologist,  as  well  as  a 

282 


CONCLUSION 

student  of  dietetics  and  metabolism,  and  he  must  have 
power  to  carry  out  sanitary  measures. 

"  Terrible  epidemics  of  typhoid  fever,  cholera,  dys- 
entery and  diarrhoea  have  resulted  from  flies  carrying 
disease  germs  from  unsavoury  places  to  the  mess-hall, 
or  through  the  drinking  of  polluted  water.  The  para- 
site of  malaria  and  of  yellow  fever  is  transmitted 
through  the  medium  of  the  mosquito,  that  of  tubercu- 
losis through  the  sputum.  The  iron-clad  ration  of  the 
soldier  has  at  times  led  to  starvation  or  scurvy,  or  has 
proved  an  excitant  to  intestinal  disease.  With  all 
these  problems  the  military  surgeon  must  be  prepared 
to  wrestle,  especially  when  he  is  with  newly  recruited 
troops,  unaccustomed  to  the  rigorous  discipline  of  army 
life,  or  when  stationed  in  tropical  climes.  The  normal 
condition  of  the  soldier  is  health;  disease  and  prema- 
ture death  are  to  a  large  extent  unnecessary.  They 
are  to  be  overcome,  however,  not  by  the  abrogation  of 
the  intellectual  faculty,  but  by  its  exercise.  With  a 
thorough  knowledge  of  the  micro-organism  of  any  dis- 
ease, their  exclusion  is  a  comparatively  simple  matter. 
But  it  is  only  by  the  exercise  of  the  greatest  vigilance 
and  judgment  that  these  most  pathetic  tragedies  of  war 
can  be  averted,  and  that  a  high  standard  of  health  in 
an  army  be  maintained,  so  that  in  the  emergency  of 
battle  it  may  respond  most  effectively  to  the  call  of  its 
leaders." 

And  here  it  may  be  observed  that  medicine  has  con- 
tributed as  much  in  advancing  civilization  as  militarism. 

283 


THE    REAL    TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 

It  has  conquered  or  mitigated  plagues  and  pestilences, 
which  in  single  epidemics  have  destroyed  more  lives 
than  the  total  of  the  combined  armies  of  the  world. 
In  one  outbreak  of  cholera  in  China  thirteen  million 
victims  succumbed  to  the  disease.  History  commits 
no  greater  injustice  than  the  mention  of  a  thousand 
generals  to  one  physician.  But  what  great  purposes 
have  the  conquests  of  science  attained  for  our  armies? 

Europe,  to-day,  is  one  vast  military  camp;  the  re- 
sources of  each  country  are  taxed  to  the  utmost  limit 
to  support  the  great  living  plants  for  human  destruc- 
tion, the  armies  and  the  navies;  and  America  is  fol- 
lowing. Thousands  of  millions  of  dollars  are  annually 
expended  by  the  civilized  nations  of  the  world  in  the 
maintenance  of  great  military  schools  and  arsenals, 
for  the  education  of  men  in  the  art  of  war,  and  in  the 
manufacture  of  machines  for  human  destruction,  while 
comparatively  little  is  being  done  in  the  study  of  those 
equally  important  subjects,  preventable  diseases  in 
armies,  and  the  preservation  of  the  health  of  "  the 
man  behind  the  gun."  We  go  blundering  on,  expend- 
ing a  quarter  of  a  million  of  dollars  a  day  in  our  effort 
to  destroy  our  human  foes,  while  the  more  formidable 
adversary  in  the  ranks,  five  times  more  deadly  than 
the  bullets  of  an  enemy,  is  left  comparatively  un- 
heeded. 

And  what  is  the  logical  result  of  such  mental 
myopia  ? 

In  the  five  months  of  the  Porto  Eican  campaign  in 

284 


CONCLUSION 

the  late  Spanish- American  War  262  men  died  from  dis- 
ease, while  only  three  were  killed  by  bullets.  In  the 
mobilization  camps  of  the  United  States  during  that 
war,  2,649  men  died  of  preventable  diseases  without 
one  of  them  leaving  the  country  or  seeing  the  firing 
line. 

Every  death  from  preventable  disease  is  an  insult 
to  the  intelligence  of  the  age.  When  it  occurs  in  an 
army  where  the  units  have  to  submit  to  discipline,  it 
becomes  a  governmental  crime.  The  first  responsibility 
of  the  government  in  times  of  war  or  peace  should  be 
the  proper  care  of  its  guardians.  The  state  deprives 
the  soldier  of  his  liberty,  prescribes  his  exercises,  equip- 
ment, dress  and  diet,  and,  in  the  hour  of  danger,  ex- 
pects him,  if  necessary,  to  lay  down  his  life  in  its 
defence  and  honour.  It  should,  therefore,  give  him 
the  best  sanitation  and  the  best  medical  supervision 
that  the  science  of  the  age  can  devise,  be  it  Japanese 
or  Hottentot. 

And  yet,  should  occasion  arise  with  us  for  the  gath- 
ering of  another  army  of  250,000  men  next  summer, 
what  evidence  is  submitted  to  prove  that  the  lamentable 
scenes  of  1898,  with  all  their  nauseating  details,  would 
not  be  repeated?  From  Porto  Eico,  Tampa,  and 
Chickamauga,  where  no  fighting  was  done,  but  where 
more  sick  and  invalided  were  gathered  at  one  time  than 
would  overload  any  dozen  transports  and  hospital  trains, 
the  American  Volunteers,  had  they  been  properly  sub- 
sisted on  the  principle  of  the  Japanese  to-day,  would 

285 


THE    REAL    TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 

have  returned  to  their  homes  and  vocations  healthy 
and  happy  as  after  a  summer's  outing.  I  ask  what 
tangible  evidence  is  submitted  to  show  that  history 
would  not  repeat  itself,  and  that  such  an  army,  gath- 
ered hastily,  would  not  again  be  brought  almost  to  its 
knees,  through  the  same  ignorance  and  incompetency  ? 
None  —  none  in  the  Medical  Department,  which  is 
worse  off  by  fifty-eight  per  cent,  than  it  was  in  1898. 
The  army  is  to-day  officered  throughout  for  a  strength 
of  one  hundred  thousand  men,  except  the  Medical 
Department,  which  is  only  sufficient  for  forty-two  thou- 
sand. 

At  the  Fifty-ninth  Congress  a  bill  has  been  intro- 
duced to  increase  the  efficiency  of  this  department  of 
the  Army.  It  failed  at  the  previous  session  because 
the  Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Military  Affairs, 
and  many  of  his  colleagues,  regarded  it  as  a  "graft," 
and  could  not  be  brought  to  see  wherein  it  benefited  the 
interests  or  safeguarded  the  health  of  the  men  who  did 
the  fighting,  —  and  in  this  conclusion,  I  believe,  they 
were  partially  justified,  because  the  bill  was  hopelessly 
defective  in  essential  features.  It  made  no  provision 
for  medical  inspectors  or  for  an  independent  transport 
system;  it  gave  the  medical  officer  no  advisory  author- 
ity over  the  Commissary  Department;  and  it  failed  to 
advocate  an  increase  in  the  rank  of  the  Surgeon-Gen- 
eral commensurate  with  the  importance  of  the  depart- 
ment of  which  he  is  the  head.  He  should  be  directly 
responsible  only  to  the  Secretary  of  War,  or  the  Presi- 

286 


CONCLUSION 

dent  of  the  United  States,  and  he  should  have  con- 
ferred upon  him  by  law  the  authority  to  take  action 
in  matters  of  sanitation,  dietary  and  hospital  trans- 
port, all  so  necessary  for  the  safeguarding  of  the  sol- 
dier's health.  With  these  reforms  enacted  we  would 
have  no  more  such  humiliating  spectacles  as  were  wit- 
nessed in  the  Spanish  War,  or  more  recently  at  Panama, 
where  the  recommendations  of  a  brilliant  exponent  of 
the  medical  corps,  Colonel  Gorgas,  were  ignored  by  a 
commission  composed  principally  of  men  untrained  in, 
and  ignorant  of,  hygienic  law.  The  consequences  at 
Panama  have  been  neglected  sanitation,  and  the  final 
result  a  costly  epidemic,  to  say  nothing  of  the  delay  in 
the  construction  of  the  canal  and  the  loss  of  interest 
on  the  sixty-million-dollar  investment  for  nearly  a  year, 
—  an  amount  of  money  that  would  have  run  the  entire 
Medical  Department  of  the  Army  for  years.  The  sec- 
ond Panama  Commission  promptly  indorsed  the  find- 
ings of  Colonel  Gorgas,  and  the  only  reason  he  did  not 
repeat  on  the  Isthmus  his  splendid  record  of  sanitary 
reform  made  in  Havana  was  because  he  was  a  victim 
of  this  damnable  system  of  submission;  a  system  in 
which  there  is  no  incentive  to  individual  development, 
no  reward  for  original  work,  but  where  the  tendency 
is  to  create  bookkeepers  and  time-servers,  whose  value 
as  medical  experts  increases  in  inverse  ratio  to  the  time 
they  remain  in  the  service. 

A  prominent  officer  of  the  United  States  Regular 
Army,  who  had  never  been  through  Japan  or  in  Man- 

287 


THE    REAL    TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 

churia,  said  to  me  recently  that  the  medical  service 
of  the  Japanese  was  inferior  to  that  of  the  Americans; 
that  no  doctor  had  any  business  at  the  front;  that, 
if  one  of  them  appeared  on  the  firing  line  or  near  it, 
when  he  was  in  command,  he  would  kick  him  back  to 
his  place  in  the  hospital,  where  he  would  remain  look- 
ing after  the  sick  and  the  wounded  and  attending  to 
the  business  he  was  paid  for;  and,  if  he  refused  to  go, 
he  would  put  him  under  arrest  and  have  him  court- 
martialed;  that  all  these  examinations  of  water  and 
wells  and  streams  were  humbug  and  tomfoolery,  and 
that  the  use  of  boiled  water  on  marches  or  in  camps 
was  impracticable.  In  times  of  war,  he  said,  the  place 
for  a  doctor  was  behind  the  army,  taking  care  of  the 
sick  and  wounded,  but  never  in  the  front.  If  a  doctor 
objected  to  a  situation  selected  by  him  for  an  encamp- 
ment, on  the  ground  of  its  unsanitary  condition  or 
bad  water-supply,  he  would  tell  the  doctor  to  go  to 
hell. 

This  man,  too,  had  been  detailed  as  an  instructor 
in  one  of  our  large  universities.  I  would  not  mention 
his  utterances  were  it  not  for  the  fact  that  he  reflects 
the  sentiment  of  a  class  of  officers  whose  knowledge  of 
sanitation  scarcely  rivals  that  of  a  mud  turtle;  and 
that  he  illustrates  the  type  of  man  most  dangerous  to 
the  safety  of  the  army,  and  to  the  nation. 

On  October  10,  1905,  the  United  States  Surgeon- 
General  sent  me  the  following  vital  statistics  of  the 
American  Army  for  the  year  1898 :  — 

288 


CONCLUSION 

Deaths  in  the  Philippine  Islands  from  battle  casualties  17 

"          "               "        "     disease  203 

Porto  Rico                      "     battle  casualties  3 

"                                "     disease  262 

Cuba                               "     battle  casualties  273 

44                                  "     disease  567 

the  United  States  (camps,  etc.)  from  casualties  0 

14          44         "                              "    disease  2,649 

Total  deaths,  3,974 

Or  about  one  from  casualties  to  fourteen  from  disease. 

When  contemplating  these  marvellous  figures  and 
the  reverse  record  made  by  the  Japanese,  of  only  one 
death  from  disease  to  four  from  battle  casualties,  with 
what  a  ghastly  and  melancholy  smile  the  once  Com- 
manding Officer  of  the  Army  at  Manila  must  recall 
his  action  in  censoring  the  cablegram  of  the  Chief 
Surgeon,  who  had  requested  fifty  additional  officers  and 
two  hundred  more  nurses,  when  the  hospital  wards 
were  overcrowded,  because  such  a  despatch  would  prove 
the  falsity  of  his  claim  that  he  had  "  the  situation  well 
in  hand."  Months  afterward  the  surgeons  and  nurses 
were  provided,  but  not  until  the  horrible  condition  was 
intensified,  and  taps  had  sounded  the  requiem  for  many 
a  poor  boy  who  had  joined  the  great  majority. 

Perhaps  the  same  delight  may  solace  the  contem- 
plative Commander  of  the  Cuban  Campaign,  when  he 
recalls  his  famous  order  at  Tampa,  directing  the  un- 
loading of  a  ship  filled  with  medical  and  hospital  sup- 
plies for  Santiago  and  the  substitution  of  a  load  of 
mules  instead.  Or  another  Major-General  during  that 

289 


THE    REAL    TRIUMPH    OF    JAPAN 

war,  who,  on  being  waited  upon  by  certain  medical 
officers  with  a  protest  against  the  use  of  certain  water 
at  Chickamauga,  said  in  response  to  their  complaint: 

"  When  I  want  your  advice,  I  will  send  for  you ; 
until  I  do  so,  you  can  attend  to  your  own  business." 

Or  solace  may  even  be  brought  to  the  then  Sec- 
retary of  War,  who,  when  inspecting  the  camps  at 
Montauk  Point  with  the  President  of  the  United  States, 
said,  on  looking  at  a  glass  of  water  furnished  the  troops 
at  that  infected  camp,  and  which  certain  medical  men 
had  pronounced  to  contain  germs  of  disease :  "  Why, 
it  looks  all  right  to  me ! " 

Is  the  great  medical  profession,  —  a  profession  that 
in  one  of  the  bloodiest  wars  of  history  has  contributed 
so  largely  in  reducing  the  mortality  of  deaths  from  dis- 
ease by  eight  hundred  per  cent.,  —  is  it  to  remain  sub- 
servient to  the  dictates  of  the  variety  of  judgment  just 
cited,  or  is  its  department  in  our  army  to  be  reor- 
ganized upon  rational  lines,  and  its  personnel  empow- 
ered to  enforce  its  mandates  so  that  the  medical  and 
moral  rights  of  the  soldier  may  be  safeguarded  and  the 
country  receive  the  benefit  of  his  protection? 

It  is  my  belief  that,  until  the  line  and  staff  officer 
of  the  American  Army  is  taught  the  necessity  of  sani- 
tation, and  the  medical  officer  is  given  rank  and  au- 
thority to  enforce  it,  our  Medical  Department  must 
remain  a  humiliating  failure.  Its  continuance  under 
present  conditions  is  no  less  than  an  evidence  of  na- 
tional imbecility. 

290 


CONCLUSION 

The  widow  of  an  American  officer,  whose  life  had 
been  needlessly  sacrificed  through  preventable  disease 
in  one  of  our  Island  Possessions,  returning  from  the 
sad  scene,  recently  said  to  me :  — 

"  Those  who  love  their  country  are  willing  to  give 
their  dearest  and  best  for  their  country's  good.  But 
there  is  little  glory  and  much  suffering  for  the  soldier 
who  dies  from  disease  in  a  foreign  clime,  wasting  his 
life,  instead  of  losing  it  in  the  defence  of  his  country's 
honour.  We,  the  mothers,  must  teach  our  children  the 
lessons  of  loyalty;  must  imbue  the  boy  of  to-day  with 
the  patriotism  that  will  make  him  the  soldier  of  to- 
morrow. We  may  dwell  with  loving  pride  on  the  glory 
of  death  on  the  firing  line,  and  inculcate  in  him  the 
lessons  of  heroism  which  characterized  his  father's  life 
and  made  his  death  a  triumph.  But  what  can  we  say 
to  the  son  of  the  man  who  has  died  from  disease,  due 
to  the  lack  of  care  by  the  government  for  which  he  was 
willing  to  sacrifice  his  family's  interests  and  happiness, 
and  his  own  life?  Loyalty  has  its  birth  in  love,  and 
its  death  in  hate.  This  is  not  the  first  nor  the  last 
war  America  will  have  to  fight,  and  it  behooves  our 
lawmakers  to  look  well  to  the  care  of  the  soldier  of 
to-day  so  as  to  count  on  the  sons  of  to-morrow,  for 
America's  future  depends  on  the  lessons  her  sons  are 
now  learning." 


THE   END. 


20  291 


(4) 


THE  RUSSO-JAPANESE  WAR. 


From   Tokio   Through   Manchuria   with 
the  Japanese. 

By  Major  Louis  L.  SEAMAN.  With  32  graphic  Illustra- 
tions never  before  used.  121110.  Cloth,  $1.50  net. 

A  straightforward,  untrameled  account  by  an  American  officer. 
The  author  was  formerly  in  the  United  States  army  and  has  just 
returned  from  the  seat  of  war.  Major  Seaman  also  went  through 
the  Boxer  uprising  and  the  Chino-Japanese  War,  and  is  a  trained 
observer  and  experienced  writer. 

"  The  immediate  purpose  of  Dr.  Seaman's  journey  to  the  front  with  the 
Japanese  army  was  that  of  inspecting  the  sanitary  and  medical  work  among 
them.  His  experiences  and  adventures  incident  to  that  undertaking  are  most 
interestingly  narrated  in  the  present  volume.  His  chronicles  thrill  with  the  spirit 
of  'Banzai  Nippon,'  the  shout  of  patriotism  in  the  '  Land  of  the  Rising  Sun.' 
He  shows  the  course  of  law  and  order  that  transforms  a  Japanese  citizen  into 
a  patriot  and  warrior,  and  points  to  the  masterly  preparation  for  war,  based 
on  scientific  principles,  which  Japan  has  made  a  national  business. 

"  One  of  the  most  entertaining  and  at  the  same  time  one  of  the  most  in- 
structive books  thus  far  written  about  the  war  in  the  Far  East." 

— Army  and  Navy  Journal. 

"  Though  his  book  abounds  in  adventure  and  incident,  including  ex- 
periences among  Chinese  bandits,  his  most  surprising  chapters  are  those  on 
the  triumphs  of  Japanese  hospital  methods." — Chicago  Record-Herald. 

' '  Each  of  the  chapters  reads  like  a  thrilling  story,  and  some  of  the  sub- 
jects will  show  that  the  materials  are  of  the  most  valuable  kind." 

— St.  Louis  Globe- Democrat. 

"  Dr.  Seaman's  observations  standing  alone  would  be  invaluable,  but  he 
has  given  them  truer  scientific  worth  by  comparing  the  condition  of  the 
Japanese  army  with  that  of  the  armies  of  the  other  nations  in  all  the  modem 
mass . ' ' — Baltimore  Herald. 

"  '  Banzai  Nippon,'  which  being  translated  means,  it  appears,  'ten  thousand 
hurrahs  for  Japan,'  is  the  first  phrase  and  the  last  of  Dr.  Seaman's  book,  and 
properly  so,  for  the  burden  of  the  story  is  to  show  how  wisely  and  well  the 
Japanese  are  carrying  on  the  disagreeable  business  of  war — not  in  the  matter  of 
strategy  and  such  like,  for  upon  these  things  Dr.  Seaman  does  not  dwell,  but 
in  the  article  of  keeping;  the  soldiers  fit  and  eliminating;  almost  entirely  the  loss 
by  preventable  disease  which  in  previous  wars  has  killed  its  five  hundreds  at 
lea^t  where  bullets  have  killed  its  hundreds.  Dr.  Seaman  saw  service  as 
military  surgeon  in  the  volunteer  army  of  the  United  States  in  Cuba,  in  the 
Philippines,  and  with  the  allies  in  China  at  the  time  of  the  Boxer  troubles. 
He  is,  therefore,  a  man  of  experience." — New  York  Times. 

D.    APPLETON    AND    COMPANY,    NEW    YORK. 


AN  AMERICAN  ADMIRAL 


Forty-five  Years  Under  the  Flag. 

By  WINFIELD  SCOTT  SCHLEY,  Rear- Admiral,  U.  S.  N. 
Illustrated.   8vo.    Cloth,  uncut  edges,  and  gilt  top,  $3.00  net. 

About  one-third  of  Admiral  Schley's  volume  is  devoted  to  the  Spanish 
War,  in  which  he  became  so  great  a  figure.  He  tells  his  own  story  in 
simple  and  effective  words.  His  recollections  are  constantly  reinforced 
by  references  to  dispatches  and  other  documents. 

Readers  will  be  surprised  at  the  extent  of  Admiral  Schley's  experi- 
ences. He  left  the  Naval  Academy  just  before  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil 
War  and  saw  service  with  Farragut  in  the  Gulf.  Three  chapters  are 
devoted  to  Civil  War  events.  His  next  important  service  was  rendered 
during  the  opening  of  Corea  to  the  commerce  of  the  world,  and  the 
chapter  in  which  he  describes  the  storming  of  the  forts  is  one  of  thrilling 
interest.  Another  important  expedition  in  his  life  was  the  rescue  of 
Greely,  to  which  three  chapters  are  devoted.  Two  other  chapters  per- 
tain to  the  Revolution  in  Chili,  and  the  troubles  growing  out  of  the 
attack  upon  some  of  Admiral  Schley's  men  in  the  streets  of  Valparaiso. 

Altogether  the  book  contains  thirty-eight  chapters.  It  has  been  illus- 
trated from  material  furnished  by  Admiral  Schley  and  through  his  sug- 
gestions, and  makes  an  octavo  volume  of  large  size.  It  will  appeal  to 
every  true-hearted  American. 

The  author  says  in  his  preface :  "In  times  of  danger  and  duty  the  writer 
endeavored  to  do  the  work  set  before  him  without  fear  of  consequences.  With 
this  thought  in  mind,  he  has  felt  moved,  as  a  duty  to  his  wife,  his  children, 
and  his  name,  to  leave  a  record  of  his  long  professional  life,  which  has  not 
been  without  some  prestige,  at  least  for  the  flag  he  has  loved  and  under  which 
he  has  served  the  best  years  of  his  life." 

"  Rear- Admiral  W.  S.  Schley's  'Forty-five  Years  Under  the  Flag'  is  the 
most  valuable  contribution  to  the  history  of  the  American  Navy  that  has  been 
written  in  many  a  year." — New  York  Times. 

"  The  author's  career  is  well  worthy  of  a  book,  and  he  has  every  reason  for 
pride  in  telling  of  his  forty-five  active  years  in  all  parts  of  the  world." 

— Edwin  L.  Shuman  in  the  Chicago  Record-Herald. 

"  It  is  a  stirring  story,  told  with  the  simple  directness  of  a  sailor.  Its  read- 
ing carries  the  conviction  of  its  truthfulness.  The  Admiral  could  not  have 
hoped  to  accomplish  more." — Chicago  Evening  Post. 

"  He  has  told  his  own  story,  in  his  own  way,  from  his  own  viewpoint,  and 
goes  after  his  detractors,  open  and  above  board,  with  his  big  guns." 

—  Washington  Post. 

"  It  is  a  work  that  will  interest  everyone,  from  the  sixteen-year-old  school- 
boy who  is  studying  history  and  loves  tales  of  stirring  adventure  to  the  grand- 
sire  whose  blood  still  pulses  hotly  with  patriotic  pride  at  the  recounting  of 
valiant  deeds  of  arms  under  our  starry  flag." — Boston  American. 

"The  Admiral  tells  the  story  well.  His  is  a  manly  and  straightforward 
style.  He  leaves  nothing  to  doubt,  nothing  open  to  controversy." 

— Baltimore  Sun. 

D.     APPLETON     AND     COMPANY,     NEW     YORK. 


BY  CYRUS  TOWNSEND  BRADY. 
The  Conquest  of  the  Southwest. 

The  History  of  the  Mexican  Wars.  Illustrated,  izmo. 
Cloth,  $1.50  net. 

"  In  style  the  narrative  is  clear,  simple,  and  graphic.  The  maps,  plans, 
and  illustrations  provided  add  much  to  the  interest  and  value  of  the  volume. 
Moderate — in  spite  of  certain  striking  and  even  accusatory  assertions — reason- 
able, thoughtful,  absorbing,  the  book  should  become  a  classic  of  its  kind." 

— Chicago  Herald. 

"  The  book  is  a  most  valuable  contribution  to  American  history." 

— St.  Louis  Star. 

Commodore  Paul  Jones. 

A  new  volume  in  the  GREAT  COMMANDER  SERIES,  edited 
by  General  James  Grant  Wilson.  With  Photogravure  Por- 
trait and  Maps.  i2mo.  Cloth,  $1.50  net. 

"A  thousand  times  more  interesting  than  any  of  the  so-called  historical 
romances  that  are  now  in  vogue." — Spirit  of  the  Times. 

"  Mr.  Brady's  vigorous  style,  vivid  imagination,  and  dramatic  force  are 
most  happily  exhibited  in  this  book." — Philadelphia  Press. 

"  Incomparably  fine.  Being  the  work  of  a  scholarly  writer,  it  must  stand 
as  the  best  popular  life  yet  available.  The  book  is  one  to  buy  and  own.  It 
is  more  interesting  than  any  novel  and  better  written  than  most  histories." 

— Nautical  Gazette. 

Reuben  James. 

A  Hero  of  the  Forecastle.  A  new  volume  in  the 
YOUNG  HEROES  OF  OUR  NAVY  SERIES.  Illustrated  by 
George  Gibbs  and  others.  i2mo.  Cloth,  $1.00. 

"  A  lively  and  spirited  narrative." — Boston  Herald. 

"  Mr.  Brady  has  made  a  stirring  tale  out  of  the  material  before  him,  one 
of  those  brilliant  and  forceful  descriptions  of  the  glories  of  the  old  wooden- 
walled  navy  which  stir  the  blood  like  a  trumpet  call."—  Brooklyn  Eagle. 

D.     APPLETON    AND     COMPANY,    NEW    YORK. 


COLUMBUS   AND   WASHINGTON. 

The  Story  of  Columbus. 

By  ELIZABETH  EGGLESTON  SEELYE.  Edited  by  Dr. 
Edward  Eggleston.  With  100  Illustrations  by  Allegra 
Eggleston.  Delights  of  History  Series.  12010.  Cloth, 

$i-75- 

"This  is  no  ordinary  work.  It  is  preeminently  a  work  of  the  present  time  and 
of  the  future  as  well." — Boston  Traveler. 

"  Mrs.  Seelye's  book  is  pleasing  in  its  general  effect,  and  reveals  the  results  of 
painstaking  and  conscientious  study." — New  York  Tribune. 

"  A  very  just  account  is  given  of  Columbus,  his  failings  being  neither  concealed 
nor  magnified,  but  his  real  greatness  being  made  plain." — New  York  Examiner. 

"  The  illustrations  are  particularly  well  chosen  and  neatly  executed,  and  they 
add  to  the  general  excellence  of  the  volume." — New  York  Times. 

"  A  brief,  popular,  interesting,  and  yet  critical  volume,  just  such  as  we  should 
wish  to  place  in  the  hands  of  a  young  reader.  The  authors  of  this  volume  have 
done  their  best  to  keep  it  on  a  high  plane  of  accuracy  and  conscientious  work  with- 
out losing  sight  of  their  readers.  "—New  York  Independent. 

The  Story  of  Washington. 

By  ELIZABETH  EGGLESTON  SEELYE.  Edited  by  Dr. 
Edward  Eggleston.  With  over  100  Illustrations  by 
Allegra  Eggleston.  Delights  of  History  Series.  i2mo. 
Cloth,  $1.75. 

"One  of  the  best  accounts  of  the  incidents  of  Washington's  life  for  young 
people." — New  York  Observer. 

"  The  Washington  described  is  not  that  of  the  demigod  or  hero  of  the  first  half 
of  this  century,  but  the  man  Washington,  with  his  defects  as  well  as  his  virtues,  his 
unattractive  traits  as  well  as  his  pleasing  ones.  .  .  .  There  is  greater  freedom 
from  errors  than  in  more  pretentious  lives." — Chicago  Tribune. 


"  Will  be  read  with  interest  by  young  and  old.  It  is  told  with  good  taste  and 
accuracy,  and  if  the  first  President  loses  some  of  his  mythical  goodnes_s  in  this  story, 
the  real  greatness  of  his  natural  character  stands  out  distinctly,  and  his  example  will 
he  all  the  more  helpful  to  the  boys  and  girls  of  this  generation.  "—New  York 
Churchman. 

D.    APPLETON    AND    COMPANY,     NEW    YORK. 


STANDARD  HISTORICAL  WORKS. 

History  of  the  People  of  the  United  States, 

From  the  Revolution  to  the  Civil  War.  By  JOHN  BACH 
MCMASTER.  To  be  completed  in  Seven  Volumes.  Vols. 
I,  II,  III,  IV,  V,  and  VI  now  ready.  8vo.  Cloth,  gilt 
top,  $2.50  net  per  volume. 

The  Beginners  of  a  Nation. 

By  EDWARD  EGGLESTON.  A  History  of  the  Source 
and  Rise  of  the  Earliest  English  Settlements  in  America, 
with  Special  Reference  to  the  Life  and  Character  of  the 
People.  The  first  volume  in  a  History  of  Life  in  the 
United  States.  Small  8vo.  Gilt  top,  uncut,  with  Maps. 
Cloth,  $1.50. 

The  Transit  of  Civilization, 

From  England  to  America  in  the  Seventeenth  Century. 
By  EDWARD  EGGLESTON.  Uniform  with  "The  Beginners 
of  a  Nation."  Small  8vo.  Gilt  top,  uncut.  Cloth,  $1.50. 

The  Household  History  of  the  United  States  and 
its  People. 

By  EDWARD  EGGLESTON.  For  Young  Americans. 
Richly  illustrated  with  350  Drawings,  75  Maps,  etc, 
Square  8vo.  Cloth,  $2.50. 

Bancroft's  History  of  the  United  States, 

From  the  Discovery  of  the  Continent  to  the  Establish- 
ment of  the  Constitution  in  1789.  (Also  Edition  de  Luxe, 
on  large  paper,  limited  to  one  hundred  sets,  numbered.) 
Complete  in  six  volumes,  with  a  Portrait  of  the  Author. 
8vo.  Cloth,  uncut,  gilt  top,  $15.00  net.;  half  calf  or  half 
morocco,  $27.00  net ;  tree  calf,  $50.00  net. 

D.  APPLETON  AND  COMPANY,  NEW  YORK. 


A  GREAT  STORY  FOR  BOYS. 

Buck  Jones  at  Annapolis. 

By  Captain  RICHMOND  PEARSON  HOBSON,  U.  S. 
Navy.  Illustrated  in  colors.  i2mo.  Ornamental 
cloth,  $1.50. 

There  is  no  boy  in  the  country  to  whom  the  name  of 
Hobson  does  not  bring  a  thrill  of  patriotic  fire.  A  boy's 
story  by  this  national  hero  is  sure  of  an  overwhelming  re- 
ception. Captain  Hobson  here  shows  himself  a  story-teller 
of  rare  powers,  and  his  book  would  captivate  the  young 
reader  whatever  name  was  on  its  title-page.  His  name 
adds  new  charm  and  conviction. 

There  has  never  before  been  so  loyally  and  faithfully 
depicted  the  routine  and  life  of  the  naval  cadet.  Every 
incident  in  this  story  of  Buck's  career  at  the  Naval  Acad- 
emy has  its  foundation  in  fact,  and  in  the  author's  use  of 
them  here  they  become  revitalized.  Nowhere  else  so  well 
as  in  this  story  can  the  young  man,  desirous  of  learning 
how  a  cadet  fares  at  Annapolis,  obtain  the  information. 
And  in  addition  to  all  this  Captain  Hobson  has  told  a 
story  brimful  of  interest  and  adventure,  the  love  and 
mystery  of  the  sea,  the  fascination  of  boy  life  aboard  ship 
with  other  boys,  and  the  friendships  with  old  tars  and 
younger  classmates. 

"  Ranked  among  the  most  popular  books  for  boys,  not  only  because 
of  the  fame  of  the  gallant  young  author,  but  because  it  is  a  splendid 
story  of  the  sort  that  cannot  be  put  aside  until  finished,  even  if  the 
reading  extends  far  into  the  small  morning  hours." 

— Albany  Times -Union. 

"  American  boys  who  take  an  interest  in  the  growth  and  achieve- 
ments of  our  splendid  Navy — and  that  means  all  American  boys  with 
red  blood  in  their  veins — have  a  huge  treat  awaiting  them  in  '  Buck 
Jones  at  Annapolis.'  The  book  is  full  of  snap,  stirring  adventure  and 
insight  into  life  at  Annapolis." — Army  and  Navy  Journal. 

D.     APPLETON     AND     COMPANY,     NEW     YORK. 


University  of  California 

SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 

405  Hilgard  Avenue,  Los  Angeles,  CA  90024-1388 

Return  this  material  to  the  library 

from  which  it  was  borrowed. 


1991 


AU6271W8 


DEC  191* 


A    000108915    o 


V 


